Sticks and Guns
by Hayashinkage17
Summary: (A little crossover with CSI: New York) A sequel to Filling in the Dark Beats. After Nishida was reincarnated, he found himself working as an officer of NYPD. But during a certain time of his work, memories of the Afterlife began to seep inside, and it seems like fate has something on its sleeve.
1. Prologue: Agent Nishida of NYPD

Story: Sticks and Guns

 ** **A/N: Hello everyone, Kage here!****

 ** **Actually, I've been a bit reluctant to post this story quite early since this might spoil the ongoing "Filling in the Dark Beats". But I'll make sure to minimize the spoilers as few as possible.****

 ** **The idea just began to fade from my head, and so before it vanishes from my head, I need to write it as soon as possible.****

 ** **This story is actually a crossover with CSI: New York. But it's been a long time since I watch one so I was unable to depict how is the personality of the CSI:NY members, so I put it only as a little addition to the "Angel Beats!" category.****

 ** **Okay, so let's start with the story!****

 ** **DISCLAIMER AND WARNING: I don't own Angel Beats!, CSI:NY and all its characters. I only own my OCs and the absurd plot. ANY SAME NAMES ARE PURELY COINCIDENTAL and I have no intention to refer to anyone  
****

* * *

Chapter 1: Prologue

-Nishida's PoV-

If there's one thing I want to enjoy as much, it would be cruising outside, enjoying the nice, windy spring on the city park, looking at the kids playing outside with their friends, or talking with elderly people who spent the rest of their lives sitting on the park, feeling the rare fresh breeze amongst the polluted city where I live right now.

Maybe I'll take a seat on one of the long benches, then wait until the sunset arrives right in front of my eyes. Watching it together with someone I love.

Wait, someone I love?

Why does that word begin to seep into my thoughts? It's not like I have ever got myself someone to love, well, rather than my mother and father, which was still out there somewhere. I still hadn't know when they will be back from their business trips, I mean, it's been several years now, and I had no way to contact them. Are they still alive, I hope I do. I don't want them just to leave onto the Afterlife.

 _ _The Afterlife__

As I think about it, I feel my head suddenly becoming heavy, like something's being pushed into my head.

"... _ _one to six-billion odds, I'll..."__

 _"_ _ _...form a band in the next life..."__

"... _ _see you again?"__

" _ _...a miracle for us to reunite..."__

 _"_... _ _when that time comes, we'll be together forever..__."

"West..."

" _ _West, now I've been strolling onto the west..."__

"West..."

" _ _The direction where the sun sets, I need to set foot on that Western Lands..."__

"AGENT WEST!" Suddenly a hurdling scream broke me off from my "daydream", or so I thought since I don't know if I had been daydreaming the entire time, no?

Agent West, huh? Even for all the NYPD members that I knew, from the top to the bottom, I only found one member who call me with that ridiculous name.

"Agent Beltrand, how many times should I say that just because my name had a character of West, you can't just call me by Agent West..." I groaned towards the short-brown-haired, violet-eyed colleague of mine.

Anyway, as I had mentioned before. I'm working at NYPD right now, actually as a low-ranked field officer. But now I was on my desk duty, typing some reports and forwarding some calls, dunno if I had already done it right.

I wasn't a real American, of course. I was raised in Japan, but when my parents got a promotion, we were moved here to America, in New York, to be precise.

Well, only to find out that they had been pushed a lot onto their work, and almost having no time for me then.

Eventually I was left alone on my teenage days, and start to enrol to the schools there. Thanks for some help and studying, I was able to speak English well. And that helped me much on the communication here.

Apparently my extraordinary enhanced physique and physical skills made someone recommended me to enrol to NYPD, especially after I managed to stop a robbery in a cafe when I was in my final year of High School.

Of course, to do that, I had to be an American...that's what I thought. So I entered the process of Naturalization and was known as an American, and a NYPD officer some following months..

I still retained the name of "Nishida Shugo (or Shugo Nishida, depends on your preference), and since I had Nishida as my family name, the board called me as "Agent Nishida" of some sort, although a certain someone was trying to make fun of me by taking the "Nishi" part and translated it into "West", since Nishi was West in Japanese. And so he began to call me "Agent West" or something like that.

That guy was this man standing in front of me. Going with the name of Murton Beltrand, a resident of New York, he passed the entrance examinations together with me, and was put in the same division as me. This guy's roughly the same age as me, or a bit older than me, with brown hair and violet eyes, muscular build, and a lively personality.

"You need to keep up a bit longer. One hour left and our work's over for the day. Don't fill it with Z's, buddy!"

"Eh, a...am I?"

"Yes, or at least you seemed like you're going to."

"Oops, my bad..." I scratched my head and smiled awkwardly. Seems like I got busted...

"Anyway, tomorrow's the day for the operation, right? Boss Flack said that we're going to breach the well-known Japanese gang's Yorutaka group."

"Yeah, and I'm still thinking of why I was chosen as a distraction leader."

"Well, you know the reason, really!"

Yeah, the reason is that we're going to use the negotiative approach, and to do that, we need one group, or actually one person to negotiate, and he/she should be the one speaking Japanese. Well, you can deduce the rest since no one except me could speak Japanese fluently.

"Anyway, Boss Flack's going to give us a technical briefing tonight at Mrs. Taylor's coffee shop, you had to come, okay?"

"On it..." I mumbled a bit lazily.

Mrs. Taylor's coffee shop was our usual meeting place for an operation, that's what boss Flack had told me before. It was a coffee shop owned by our chief, Detective Mac Taylor's wife, Christine, or most of my seniors called her Mrs. Taylor.

I had heard some information about our chief. Turns out that our chief's previous wife had been killed in 9/11 incident, a sad fact for me to handle., moreso for Chief Taylor on his wife's death.

As I reached that word, those memories began to seep onto my head again, trying to drift me back onto the realm of sleep.

No, I'll fight this. One hour plus that briefing time. I know I can do this.

I managed to pass an hour and finished my work. But those memories are still seeping inside, and had clicked like a poster on a wall-magazine.

Those memories, related to life and death...more precisely: Life after Death: The Afterlife.

If only I know this memories will take me to a very unexpected path in the future...

* * *

 ** **A/N: Sorry if it was very short, less than 1000 words, I guess. I actually want to cover more in this chapter, but I guess I could put it in the second chapter instead.****

 ** **This ends the prologue, and to minimize spoilers, I might rarely update this story, or at least I'll be more focused to my Thesis and the fic: Filling in the Dark Beats first since this story acts as a sequel for that fic.****

 ** **Some assumptions I'm going to use:****

 **1.** ** **The Battlefront didn't have any Social Media with their own names. If they had one media, they had one with fake names.****

 **2.** ** **The person information searcher in the NYPD was only limited to CSI Agents (Mac, Jo, Danny, Lindsay etc). Nishida was only a field officer so he can't use it.****

 ** **Please R &R! Constructive Reviews and Critics are appreciated while flames are prohibited.****

 ** **Thanks and see you soon!****

 ** **Kage****


	2. Unplanned Reunion

****Hi everyone, Kage here!****

 ** **After some continuation on Filling in the Dark Beats, I've finally had some ideas to be put on this story so it could continue! Although I must admit that this idea might be too boring and this chapter will be just bland, sorry about that!****

 ** **Thank you author Enilorac Eiram for the review! Well, it looks like it, and actually at this chapter, the "Distraction Leader" might be changed in term into the "Key" since there's no distraction, anyway. I hope I didn't confuse you.****

 ** **Right, that social media thing. It would be extremely boring if everyone in the Afterlife reunite from that social media, right?But I just wanted the Battlefront to easily recognize each other when they reunite, it's tough...but I tried to set it like that, sorry if it looks bad.****

 ** **Here's the next chapter!****

* * *

Chapter 2- Unplanned Reunion

"Okay, so for this operation, everyone must move very stealthily. Yorutaka's gang was already known for their alertness, so don't ever lower your guard. Everyone hear me?"

Everyone in the group nods, except a certain guy who seemed to zone out. Of course this didn't go unnoticed by the group's chief.

"Oi, Nishida, you hear me?" Agent Flack's stern voice took him away from the sudden guard-loss state. "This meeting's quite important and you're also the key to our operation here. Don't you dare take this lightly and keep focusing here. Understand?"

"Y...Yes, sorry Sir." Nishida replied loudly, like a soldier in a training camp.

"Then, had you already known your role well? Or should I repeat it for you."

"No sir, I'm loud and clear, thank you."

"Good." Agent Flack replied in relief. "Now, take a good rest and be prepared for tomorrow's operation. Dismissed!"

All officers present were dismissed and made their way back towards their house/office, that's including a certain purple-haired officer and his colleague.

"Do your best tomorrow, buddy. The operation's success lies within you, Westfield (Nishi=West, Da/Ta= (Rice)Field..."

"You certainly know how to make your friend be extremely nervous, Agent Beltrand, and please stop that Westfield thing...it's ridiculous."

"Nah, it suits you really well, believe me."

"Suit yourself." Nishida said, yawning from tiredness, which didn't go unnoticed by his friend.

"You look like you're going to drift away to your dreamscape...I'll drive you home..."

"Nah it's okay, I'll drive myself home."

"No, you'd better take a good rest for tomorrow's operation. Don't worry, I have no intention to bring you to the bar or something." Beltrand laughed.

"Alright, fine then..." Nishida said as he followed his friend to his car.

-In the car-

The two officers entered the car, and the purple-haired one instantly zoned out and drifted to the realm of sleep, while the others just hit the wheels and drove, their destination was Nishida's house, about eight to nine miles from the cafe.

Just then, Beltrand's phone rang. He picked it up to see his acquaintance (or GF?) calling for him.

B: Hello?

?: Where are you, Murton? I've just arrived at your house and found it empty...

B: W...Well...

?: Did you go to the bar again? How many times have I told you to reduce your drinking, let alone the fact that you're going on an important mission tomorrow.

B: Look, woman, I didn't go to the bar, I know you won't let me. But I haven't come home only because the meeting took very long and it was just finished very recently. Moreover I have to drive my friend home...

?: You meant that "West" guy? Why didn't he drive himself home?

B: Because he was extremely tired, and moreover he was the key to our operation tomorrow, so I have no choice but to let him rest.

?: Oh well, you chose him to be the key only because he's the only one who could speak Japanese, right?

B: How do you know?

?: Didn't you tell me yesterday?

B: Oh, right...

?: You better go and drive him safely, then immediately go back home. I'm waiting at your house.

B: Alright, see you soon, baby.

Beltrand hang up and drove towards his first destination. Upon reaching it, he woke his colleague up.

"We've arrived, West. Should I escort you inside?"

"Nah, I'm good. You'd better go home, don't let that girl on the phone more worried..."

"How do you know?"

"I could faintly hear your conversation..." Nishida said, smirking.

"O-kay...then...take care buddy, don't force yourself." Beltrand said, before permitted himself to leave.

-The Next Night-

"Are you ready, agent Nishida?" the chief, Det. Mac Taylor asked.

"I'm ready."

"Alright, so everyone, once again here's the breakdown: As the key member for this operation. Agent Nishida, you'll act as a trade dealer and compose any trades you want, make sure that your disguise didn't falter. If your cover is blown, go and escape through any exit, the assault force will take care of the situation, but it would be much better if your cover isn't blown at all.

Meanwhile the others must stay alert at every vantage point you can see, either the front door, back door, windows, or even trapdoors. Stay hidden until the situation is dire.

Jo and Flack will stay at the exit gate. Make sure both of you didn't let anyone escape.

I'll be on the tranquilizer team. The tranquilizer team must guard every window you see, but do not shoot except if you're found out.

Adam will be using the tracker hidden in Nishida's body. For the officers who are in charge, stay at the car and turn out the radio at the designated frequency. Adam will tell you about it.

That's almost all of the outline, everyone understood?"

Everyone in the room nodded in understanding.

"Oh, and remember, do trust your partners, don't let the distrust led you to your demise." Detective Mac warned, replied by numerous nod of understanding from the officers.

"Right, may the operation turn out a success."

-Several hours later-

-Nishida's PoV-

(Note: The conversation written in italic meant that they're spoken in Japanese, otherwise it would be just as written, either English or Japanese)

I silently walked onto the meeting point in an abandoned building. Apparently this building was actually a two-storey motel, but, according to Adam and the other intel team, this building had been deserted and now was occupied by none other than Yorutaka's Gang, with their leader Yorutaka Kazegaru.

It's actually a short walk, but since that walk is silent yet dangerous, I can't help but to shiver in thought and walked very slowly. Even though Mac (that's how we usually called Chief Detective Mac Taylor) had warned us about the term: Trust, I can't help but to worry whether the support team (Tranquilizer, Assault) could do well on their mission.

No, I have to do this. If I can secure a deal, then everything will be fine.

 _"_ _ _I know even in the end, everything will be fine. As long as you're with me..."__

Hm? Did somebody talked to me?

I wonder if someone is around, but after checking in every direction, nothing I could find. Guess that's just my imagination.

But, why do I feel like I've really heard this before, and I felt like I've been experiencing it...

 _ _As long as you're with me...__

Who's with me?

As I thought about it, I realized I have reached my destination, the Motel front door. I instantly open the door and was suddenly greeted by a horde of men pointing their pistols towards me.

 _"_ _ _Now...now...drop your guns. He's not here for harm"__ A voice rang at their back. I instantly recognized the person, of course, because his face had already shown in the meeting before, and, according to Flack, that face had been stuck in Mac's case file for so many times that I bet Mac might be fully disgusted with that guy.

"Yorutaka Kazegaru." I said it out. " _ _Also known as the great safe because of your unmatched skill on trading and deals..."__

 _"_ _ _I never recalled myself being that famous. And it's been a while since I saw a Japanese aside from my group."__ he said as he walked towards me. " _ _You had already known me, but let me introduce myself again. Yorutaka Kazegaru, nice to meet you."__

 _"_ _ _Ijuin Shizuma, nice to meet you too."__ I replied as I introduced my fake name.

That name wasn't really my idea though, when I slept last night, I suddenly entered the dreamscape and in it, I saw a certain person, someone a bit familiar but I can't remember. In the dream he said that I should be ready for everything, and thought of an idea of a fake identity. Although I wonder who that guy is, but he said that I should go with either "Ijuin" or "Shizuka", but since Shizuka sounds girlie, so I changed a bit into "Shizuma", and decided to take both of them and registered a fake identity of "Ijuin Shizuma."

And that goes without saying.

" _ _So, Mr. Ijuin, you said that you wanted to discuss a great trading deal that might affect both of our group in increasing our profit from the line."__

 _"_ _ _Right, this trade will include a secret product that's very valuable in terms of usage, and so it will gently have its demand raised. And since we're on some need of some of your products, might as well I thought that we could make a good deal."__

 _"_ _ _Hmm..."__ Yorutaka looked at me suspiciously, as if he might knew something isn't right. Well, what do you expect from a master of trades who had evaded the cops multiple times?

 _"_ _ _You're not really from the government, don't you? Because if you did, you'll find your life dried away under my shoes, you got me?"__

 _"_ _ _I could assure you that I'm not from the government."__ I said as I suddenly took out my pistol and shot at the front door, hitting a certain "cop" which is supposed to be hearing there, and just then the "cop" stumbled forward, his eyes looked lifeless and his body is unmoving.

I've just killed a cop...

.

Well, it's a setting, of course. There's no way I could really kill my own colleague.

 _"_ _ _Alright then,"__ Yorutaka said. _"_ _ _Tell me your conditions."__

-Outside-

-3rd Person's PoV-

"Hey, do you think he's gonna make it?" One of the officers ask.

"Well, confronting one of the most wanted gang leader, I somehow felt a hint of a doubt." another one said.

"Hey, didn't you remember what Mac had said?" Another guy, this time it was none other than Beltrand reminded them. "You need to trust your colleagues. I know West would do well inside."

"Well, I envy your friendship with Nishida- _ _san__ , Beltrand." the first officer said. "I'm sometimes afraid of him, especially how he looks, it frightens me, really."

"If you knew him better, you won't feel the same. He's actually one friendly guy, although well, one side quirk of his is that he's always drowsy and looks like he's going to fetch some Z, if you know what I mean..."

"Well, isn't that because he can't sleep the night before? Maybe thinking about how to find a girlfriend of his own since he was still a vir...I mean he's still single."

"Oh, really, but I wonder if he's really searching for someone? Because I always heard him calling for..."

Suddenly, a gunshot was heard from inside the motel, alerting everyone outside.

"What the... Everyone, go inside!" The assault team led by Beltrand moved inside the motel.

"Agent West, I hope you're alright..."

-Inside-

"Agent Nishida...are you okay?" the assault team made their way inside, eliminating any rebelling minions, and rushed to the meeting point.

What they see at the point is quite horrible; it was a mess and a lot of powders and red stains could be seen. And what makes them really horrified is that they saw a blood-covered body of a certain purple-haired guy they really knew.

"Agent Nishida! Wake up!"

"U...Ugh!" Nishida's struggling. Apparently by the wounds of his body, it was then known that Nishida's been shot and beaten, but apparently the wounds were not too fatal, but it could be serious and deadly if it wasn't treated quickly.

"His wounds are not too fatal...but it could be serious if it's not treated. Both of you, bring him to the Chief, he had called an ambulance. I'll confront Yorutaka myself."

"Agent B...Beltrand...you..." Nishida said in a very weak voice.

"Trust me I'll end this. You better go and heal yourself, buddy."

"I trust...you." Nishida said as he raised his weak arms and pointed at a direction. "Yoru..taka's running in that d...direction. I've shot his leg so he won't go too far."

"Alright, leave it to me." Beltrand replied and run towards the direction given by Nishida, and Nishida was brought onto Mac and the others, which had really called the ambulance.

Meanwhile, Beltrand quickly ran as far as he could, only to find out that the back exit door is open. Yorutaka must've been escaped.

"D...Dang it...am I too late?"

His motivation had just vanished as he slowly walked through the exit...only to find out that the said person he pursued was cuffed and unconscious. Near them was none other than the member of CSI, and also his boss, Agent Donald Flack.

"What...How..."

"Just as Mac said, Agent Beltrand, you have to trust your colleagues." Flack said. "You don't need to worry."

-Hospital-

"I'm sorry..."

"Eh?"

"We've currently had no doctors available right now. I don't know but we can't just take a random doctor..."

"But, if it continues, won't the injury become more serious and incurable?" a certain policewoman asked. "Are you sure there are no doctors available?"

"Well..."

"Excuse me?" both of them turned to see a red-haired guy calling them. He was still young and was quite handsome. He's of a tall and slim built, but was hidden in a white doctor coat. Apparently he was concerned with the commotion. "Is something the matter?"

"Um...you see..."

"Sorry to be rude, but one of our colleague here has been shot and needs treatment as soon as possible, but this doctor said that there are no doctors available..."

"Oh, is that it then?" the young doctor said. "Then, maybe I could volunteer to treat your colleague..."

"But, aren't you a heart specialist? I mean this is not a gunshot wound to the heart, so I don't think it was on your field..."

"Nah, I've been also training for gunshot wounds, so maybe I could try to treat one. Although I guess I'm only a substitute until the doctor with the correct specialist takes over. How about that?"

"But, is it really going to be okay?" The other doctor asked, still doubted the young doctor.

"Don't worry, trust me."

"It's a deal then."

The young doctor quickly made his way to the gunshot-wound patient's room.

-Meanwhile-

-Nishida's PoV-

 _ _I wish we could be together forever...__

 _ _This won't be our last meeting, will it?__

 _ _Until that time comes, don't forget me!__

These words quickly seeped into my mind.

Seriously, this had already happened so many times, and everytime it did, I always have this lingering feeling, like I've really experienced them for real.

One by one, the words came seeping onto me, and along with them are the faces I hardly recognize, but somehow I've seen them before.

Then...

"Aaaaahhhh!" A heavy pain grew from inside my head, like it my head was going to explode. It was grueling and it was very long in time, and one by one, I recognized the face and to whom it belongs, along with it was the activity I had done with them on some time I had never recognized.

And lastly, one thump from my head, and one compound of words seeped inside.

 _ _The Afterlife__

And just with that, my mind went blank, and so do the vision.

I remembered everything, from those Battlefront and Angel things, anything related to God, the Battlefront, the band known as GirlDeMo, and the certain person I've getting very close to... that very certain person...with lilac-haired and violet eyes...

I'm screaming her name unconsciously, and snapped my eyes open.

I realized that I'm in a kind of a hospital room, although somehow it feels a little...familiar? Like, this setting was not the first time I was involved in...

And...to my own surprise, is the doctor that took care of me. Those red hair and those eyes, the tall-and-slim build, and the so well-known familiar face I've encountered.

"Oh, you're awake..."

That sound, it must've been...

"I never expect our reunion to be like this, but... _ _Hisashiburi,__ Nishida Shugo..."

Yeah, it was no doubt, it was him...

" _ _Hisashiburi,__ Otonashi- _ _san__..."

 ** **A/N: And, Nishida had been reunited with one of the ex-members of the Battlefront, although not in the setting they really wanted.****

 ** **By the way, I'm not an American and it's been a while since I watched CSI:NY, so I'm sorry if OOC-ness appear and some terms might not be right.****

 ** **Oh, as for the setting, actually everyone in the Battlefront would still remember their colleagues if they met each other, the only thing that hinders them is that, not everyone had seen the others. Take Nishida, for example, he hadn't met any Battlefront members, except Otonashi, this time. And who knows in the future?****

 ** **Don't worry, this is an OC/Irie story and not OC/Otonashi Yaoi story. Only we haven't seen Irie this time, maybe at the future chapters?****

 ** **Anyway, please R &R! Constructive Reviews and Critics are appreciated while flames are prohibited, Thank you and See you soon!****

 ** **Kage****


	3. An Angelic Option Trader

****A/N: Alright! Here goes with another chapter! At the previous chapter, Nishida was downed in an operation and was rushed to the hospital, only to find out that the doctor taking care of him turned out to be none other than Yuzuru Otonashi, his ex-colleague at the Afterlife.****

 ** **This chapter will cover the interactions between the two ex-members of the Battlefront, and also with one more figure that had connections with the two of them, too. This chapter will also be the ground chapter for the future chapters since the stepping stone will be set here.****

 ** **Anyway, for the review from author**** ** **Enilorac Eiram**** ** **: Well, isn't that quite obvious, and well, that's how I put an unplanned reunion, though I'm sorry if it's a kind of boring.****

 ** **Though, even if he's a heart specialist, he's still a young doctor so he won't work too much, it will be written on this chapter about his work schedule or any other things.****

 ** **Well, I guess Battlefront-style missions were already stuck in my head, so I can't help it.****

 ** **Thanks for the review!****

 ** **Without further ado, here's the new chapter.****

 ** **Warning: This chapter will contain a little spoiler to some unwritten chapters of "Filling in the Dark Beats", although it might not affect much of the plot itself.****

Chapter 3- An Angelic Option Trader

* * *

"So, a police officer, if I'm not mistaken?" Otonashi asked to the purple-haired guy which was used to be his colleague. "I must say, that woman in charge for bringing you here was quite the forceful one."

"Um? The woman in charge? Who is it?" Nishida asked. There are not many female agents or officers in the NYPD that he had known or made contact with. So he should've known about her if Otonashi gave him the right description. "Or rather, how does she look?"

"Well...if I'm not mistaken, a middle-aged woman with long black-hair and slim figure. I remembered her using clothes that were quite covering much and a knee-length skirt, at least that's what I know."

"That was more than enough, Otonashi. Long black hair and middle-age was already enough for me." Nishida replied. "That should've been Agent Danville, she was known to be caring for everyone she knows, including her colleagues, her family, the victim of a crime, and sometimes even a suspect. Her caring nature sometimes made Chief and the others worried."

Otonashi just sighed, no wonder if she was a kind of forceful to find a doctor for Nishida. Since Nishida was a member of the NYPD, where Agent Danville also worked, then logic could imply the obvious.

"Anyway, Nishida, I heard you scream during your sleep, which caused you to wake up." Otonashi said. "So, if you don't mind, could you tell me what's going on?"

Nishida felt a bit dumbfounded at the question. That question was actually a bit too personal to be asked. It was a question not many people wanted to answer, anyway. But the flooding memories that entered his mind somehow urged him to answer.

"Well, I just have my memories suddenly plunging into my head, and since the amount was so much it made my head aches like it's going to explode..."

"Memories. Are we talking about the Afterlife memories here?"

"Eh, you've got your Afterlife memories back too, Otonashi?"

"If not, then how could I just say " _ _Hisashiburi__ " on our meeting here?" he chuckled, causing the purple-haired police officer to chuckle at the logic too. "Anyway, from what I heard, you're just screaming on one name, and you don't have to ask me on what the name is since I bet you knew it yourself."

"Oh, well, you got me on that one." Nishida replied. "I don't know why but I just kept screaming her name every time those memories flooded my mind. I guess I'm pretty much have missed her."

"Considering what happened during your last times at the Afterlife, how close the two of you were, then I won't deny it if I were you." Otonashi said.

"It surely is. Oh, anyway, have you seen her somewhere?"

"As much as I wanted to help you, but no, I had never seen Irie near here, so I'm afraid I couldn't just tell you where she is." Otonashi said, causing Nishida to frown.

"Well, I just wished miracles do exist..."

Otonashi could see the frown on his ex-colleague's face. It clicks onto him about how much Nishida had missed Irie, especially after what they had been through during their previous life and their times in the Afterlife.

Oh, how he wish he could help him...

...

"Oh, why don't we just...do that?" Otonashi's face suddenly formed a smile, causing the purple-haired ex-colleague of his to raise a question mark above his head.

"Hm, what are you talking about?"

"We all knew that both of us were a member of the Afterlife Battlefront before, right?"

"Yes, and?"

"We have our memories of the Afterlife still intact, don't we?"

"Yes..."

"Why don't we try to find the other members of the Battlefront around here? Maybe if we're lucky, they could also have their memories of the Afterlife intact too. And, maybe some of them even knew where Irie is, don't you think?"

"That was easier said than done." Nishida said. "How are we supposed to even find one of them if we even had no idea where they are right now?"

"Let's just give it a try. The chance will present itself. For now, why don't you just recover right now, and when you've got the chance, come visit us so we can discuss about the plan. Here's our address."

"Well, I'll take your offer on that." Nishida said, before registering the last part of his ex-colleague's speech. "Wait? Us? Did you live with someone..."

Nishida's eyes quickly darted on a certain spot. The spot was none other than Otonashi's left hand. On the left hand, specifically on the ring finger, a kind of ring was visible...

"Oh, Otonashi- _ _san__ , I never knew that you had been married." Nishida said. " _ _Kekkon omedetou-san!__ "

"You never asked." Otonashi replied. "Thank you, anyway."

"You're welcome." Nishida replied. "So, with whom? She isn't what I think she is, right?"

Otonashi just smiled. "I think she is what you think she is."

Nishida's eyes went wide. "H...Hey, it can't be Tachibana- _ _san__ , right?"

"Yes, she is." Otonashi said as he showed him the ring that he wore. It was clearly engraved in the ring, the initials for both Otonashi and Kanade.

"Damn it, and I thought I could set you both up on a date or something, but it turns out I was many steps late." Nishida chuckled. "So, is Tachibana- _ _san__ living with you together?"

"Yes, you're right." Otonashi said. "And no, we're not instantly together in this life if that's what you wanted to ask. Our road to be together was not even that short."

"You know me too well, as always." Nishida said. "So, care to tell me how the two of you ultimately end like this?"

"Well, it's a long story. But, long story short, one song ultimately made both of our paths to cross..."

Otonashi decided to fill in everything happen during the Afterlife moments after Nishida's passing, and then the story on how Otonashi met Kanade in this new life, giving him just the short version since it would take very long time if he told Nishida everything.

"You know, it might be hilarious when I rethink about it. You really just asked about the melody of the song she heard to her, which is a stranger at that time? That's something really unusual." Nishida chuckled.

"But, "My Song" was exclusive for the members of the Afterlife, so I don't think it would be that hilarious, actually." Otonashi countered. "Oh, it seems like my usual work schedule time is approaching, maybe I'll call a substitute doctor or nurse to take care of you here." Otonashi said. "Remember, after you finished recuperating, don't hesitate to visit us and we'll discuss the plan there."

"Eh, come to think of it, aren't you working too? What if I visited you when you're working?"

"My schedule's every weekday from 12.00 to 15.00 since I'm still new, so if you visit me out of that schedule, you'll have high chance to meet me at my house. Even so, Kanade's mostly at the house so probably she might greeted you if I'm not there." Otonashi said. "You're probably much more busier than me since you're a police officer, so I think it pretty much depends on your schedule instead."

"All right, I'll keep it in mind." Nishida replied, before letting the young doctor go.

* * *

-Several Days Later-

"Let's see, 42th Jarvis Avenue to the left, the sixth house at the right. Oh, here we go."

Apparently just three days after the conversation took place, Nishida really had recuperated and checked out from the hospital, with only slight extra prescriptions and medication to make sure he really recuperated very well. He was still in the sick day-off period and so he was excused of the work for the day.

As on cue with what he had promised with the young doctor which was his ex-colleague in the Afterlife, Nishida took the paper filled with Otonashi's home address, and decided to pay the doctor (and possibly his wife) a visit.

From outside, the house was neither elegant nor enormous, it just looked quite alike with the houses near it. Though, the house stood out quite interestingly, probably because of the beautiful flower garden that was visible at the front yard of the house.

" _ _Sasuga Tachibana-san!"__ Nishida muttered. Yes, he knew pretty well that the beautiful garden in front of the house must've been Kanade's doing, especially when he found out about her taking care of the Afterlife's flower garden.

However, he couldn't just let the flower garden mesmerized him at that spot, or the neighborhood would probably be suspicious of him and accused him on something negative. And so, Nishida made his way to the front door and rung the bell.

The door opened, and in front of him was not the person he might thought to be. In front of him was a young woman, with a bit of a short stature. She got shoulder-length straight white/silvery hair tied to a ponytail, and gentle golden eyes, a bit different from his piercing ones. She was wearing a casual white dress and a denim jacket on the outside. On her hands were a kind of gloves, probably the gardening ones.

Nishida instantly recognized the young woman since she was ultimately familiar, aside from the short hair, though maybe the same couldn't be said for the young woman in particular.

" _ _O...Ohayou,__ T...Tachibana- _ _san__."

"Er...do I know you? How do you know my family name?" The white-haired woman replied. Her sound was monotone, as usual, though her face now showed a bit of a confusion.

'Eh, didn't she get her memories back?' Nishida thought. "E...Er, I'm a friend of y...your husband. I..."

"If that's the case, then wait a minute." Kanade said before going inside again for a while, "Yuzuru, you've got a guest."

"Okay, wait a second." A sound suddenly emanated from inside the house. The sound was followed by quick sequence of footsteps that became louder from time to time. It didn't take more than twenty seconds that a figure suddenly appeared from inside the house. "Oh, if it isn't Nishida- _ _san__. Kanade must be surprised to see you."

"Well, rather than that, I don't think she even remembered me." Nishida replied.

"Wait, Nishida as in Shugo Nishida?"

"So, you finally remembered me, Tachibana- _ _san__?"

"It should've been Otonashi- _ _san__ now, but you can call me Kanade." Kanade replied, still monotonously. "Yeah, the Battlefront's member which used to be an assassin. Sorry for what happened before."

"It's okay, no hard feelings." Nishida said.

"Anyway, come in." Otonashi said, implying everyone to come into the house.

The inside of the house was, if not, a contrast to how it looks from the outside. The inside of the house was very neat and spacious, like the interior of a mansion, minus the extra space and the elegant furnitures part. One could utterly feel the real feeling of "Home Sweet Home" there.

Though, there's one part that catches Nishida's attention, that is the computer "area" in the living room. Not that it was fancy or anything, but near the computer itself was a bunch of trading books, stock charts on a paper, and many trading-related stuffs. There's even a notebook near the keyboard, all filled with numbers and many more.

"Those are Kanade's work stuffs." Otonashi explained, surprising the purple-haired officer. "She's mainly working at afternoon in a restaurant near here, but at mornings she usually indulged herself in trading."

"Oh." Nishida replied. "Stock Trading? Currency Trading?"

"Option Trading." Kanade suddenly interrupts. "It's much more beneficial, although the risks were much more challenging."

"Option Trading, I've heard about it before." Nishida said. "Isn't that one kind of trade which sometimes you can gain profit when stock's even at loss?"

"Yes, that's a put. Though, my style of option trading was much less heartless than usual."

"Hm?" Nishida was confused.

"Even if Kanade's an option trader, she never puts." Otonashi said. "She said that she didn't feel right if she got profit from someone's loss, so she always calls and never puts."

"Oh, I get it." Nishida said. "Well, I never expected Ta...I mean Kanade- _ _san__ to do trading, anyway, but seems like we can't judge the book by its cover."

"You certainly are." Otonashi said. "Right, back to the real topic. So we're here because we're going to start a certain plan. I think I've given a little head start to Kanade yesterday, haven't I?"

"Yes, you have, Yuzuru." Kanade replied. "So, basically, we're going to gather as much information about the members of the what you say as the Battlefront, and try to reunite them together, right?"

"Kanade's right. And as another goal, we're going to try to find Nishida's soulmate which I believe is still out there."

"Oh, please, it's embarrassing to use that word."

"But she really is, right? So do not protest." Otonashi said. "Well, I believe that we can declare this as an operation."

"Yeah, but Yuri isn't here." Nishida said. "What if Kanade- _ _san__ commenced the plan for us?"

"This operation's initiated by both you and Yuzuru, so actually it must be either of you." Kanade replied.

"Alright then, I'll be the one to commence." Otonashi said. "Operation, START!"

-Silence-

"So, what should we do?" Nishida asked.

"Well, for starters, we could just do our usual works, I bet the opportunity will show itself. Oh, and if you bumped into someone from the Battlefront, you can ask him/her to join our operation too, as a member of the Battlefront. Maybe if we're lucky, that member probably has connections to another member, which makes our operation easier." Otonashi said. "Oh, and Kanade, you are also a part of this operation, so feel free to help us and don't feel like an outsider, okay?"

"Of course." Kanade said as she suddenly enveloped Otonashi in a hug.

"Ahem, I'm still here, guys."

"Oops, sorry!" Otonashi mocked an apology.

And so their operation started.

Never did they know, that the plan might take a step forward just a day after this commencement, and in a way they wouldn't expect as well.

* * *

 ** **A/N: That concludes the stepping stone for the plan! Oh well, as you can guess, the plan was very obvious, especially when it comes to the second life for the Battlefront, what other term could be thought the first time if not "Battlefront Reunion" or something of some sort?****

 ** **As I have stated, this story will rarely be updated, at least until I finished "Filling in the Dark Beats", which was almost finished, fortunately. I still have my cousins to take care, so don't expect an extremely fast update.****

 ** **Please R &R! Constructive Reviews and Critics are appreciated while flames are prohibited. Thank you and see you soon!****

 ** **Kage****


	4. Master Song Xia

****A/N: Hello everyone! Kage here!****

 ** **Sorry for the long gap of not updating! I**** **'** ** **ve got quite a business and it**** **'** ** **s hard for me to get more ideas.****

 ** **At the last chapter, it was said that the mission might take a step forward. Yeah, it will, because...read to find out!****

 ** **As for the review from author**** ** **Enilorac Eiram**** ** **: Of course we had to use the vagueness, but FiTDB was already done so it pretty much didn**** **'** ** **t hide anything anymore, doesn**** **'** ** **t it.****

 ** **Yeah, miracles do happen, and of course we hope it does happen to these characters too. Ugh...what am I saying.****

 ** **Well, that**** **'** ** **s pretty much Kanade and her airheaded nature XD.****

 ** **Thanks for the review!****

 ** **And here we go with the next chapter!****

* * *

Chapter 4- Master Song Xia

-A Few Days Later-

It had been a few days since the commotion with Otonashi and Kanade, which resulted in an initiation of a "Battlefront Mission" declared by the redhead himself. Otonashi continued to work as a heart surgeon in the hospital where Nishida was treated, and Kanade turned on her computer, opening up her stock logs, and began her trading routine since the stock market is open.

Nishida was fully recovered and started to come for work again, much to Agent Flack and Agent...or rather...Officer Beltrand's amusement. Doing such job had put Nishida in a position where he could be seen both as a Special Agent and Metro Police, though hierarchically he was still in the Metro Police Department. But thanks to his contribution, they managed to stop a drug turf from spreading any further, and as such, a big case had just been solved.

Right now, the purple-haired officer was doing his duty as a Metro Police together with Beltrand. They had just arrested one man which was accused for beating up his wife and was on the way to their HQ.

"Glad to have you back. To be honest, it was lonely for me not to work beside you." Beltrand said to his colleague.

"Don't say it with that sentence, it might be a bit ambiguous." Nishida said. "But well, it's good to be back, I guess? I really missed my job..."

"As much as you missed your girlfriend." Beltrand teased, causing the purple-haired to glare at him with his piercing golden eyes.

"W...Where did that come from? Why bringing that up a sudden?"

"H...Hey, calm down!" Beltrand wavered, "I'm just testing..."

"Testing?"

"My GF used to do this a lot, and so I wanted to try at least once to my friend, isn't that okay?"

"Nope, too bad." Nishida said. "Well, I must say that your GF needed to be taught a lesson..." Nishida said. 'That really reminds me of someone, really...I wonder if she's around? Maybe if she is, I will ask her about Miyu- _ _chan__ 's whereabouts..."

"West! Brake!"

"Eh?"

Nishida immediately stepped on the brakes and noticed that the road was closed behind a police line, and a horde of police officers and some familiar faces are on the other side of the line.

"Isn't that Chief and the others? I wonder if there's a homicide going on since that was his area..."

"Dunno, but shouldn't we find another way to the HQ? this suspect at our back's waiting." Nishida said.

"Well, why don't we ask Boss...oh speak of the devil..." Beltrand replied as he noticed Flack was approaching them.

"Oh, you two had done with the patrol? How about the suspect?" Flack asked.

"He's at the backseat, we're just on our way to the HQ for his interrogation." Nishida replied. "So, what's with the commotion?"

"A body was found there, from what Mac and Jo had seen, it was probably a homicide." Flack said. "Coincidentally, he's a foreigner from Japan, so I wonder if we might need your help again."

"Doh...really?" Nishida huffed. "What's with Japanese people in this city, really?"

"Well, maybe the world's just messing with you, West..." Beltrand said. "Anyway, why don't you join Boss and the others there, while I'll bring this suspect to the HQ?"

"No, there's no need for that. We're still collecting data and evidence, you'd better finish your job with that suspect on your back. I'll call you when you're needed." Flack said.

"Alright, we're on our way, Boss." Nishida said. "See you later!"

And thus, the two metro officers made their way to the HQ using another road.

* * *

-New Jersey-

"I'll call later. See you tomorrow, Jola! Ying! Sherry!" A lilac-haired girl waved at her three friends, and walked on the direction of her home.

"Bye, Miyuki! Don't forget, tomorrow at 1, okay?" Sherry said.

"Okay!" Irie replied, turned around and started to walk.

She made her way to the city area where the city park was located. Since it was a city park, it was usually crowded. However, it can't stop it from being peaceful and comfortable to most people.

Including Irie.

This time, however, was a perfect time to see a breathtaking view, since it was on the peak of Dusk, where you can see the sun setting while sitting on a bench inside the park. And that was what Irie usually do everytime she got home at this exact time (she won't if she was too late or too early).

Sitting on a bench, her eyes darted upon the setting sun in front of them. An astonished smile crept onto her face as she continued to stare.

However, just as usual, her face quickly change into a frown at one time, and she would always take a short glance onto her side, which was either occupied by a random stranger or empty.

It was already like this for uncountable times.

* * *

 _"_ _ _The day has come to an end, hasn't it?"__

 _"_ _ _Miyu-chan, I..."__

 _"_ _ _Put it in your mind that we will meet again in our next life."__

 _"_ _ _Promise me that you won't forget me."__

 _"_ _ _Fair enough..."__

* * *

"Shugo- _ _san__ ," Irie murmured. Her lips just can't stop on calling that name. The name of someone important to her in her previous life, and also in the Afterlife.

Oh, how she wished she could replay what happened in their last times of the Afterlife.

How she wished she could embrace him like she had done for so much already, yet she had been unable to do so for so long.

How she wished she could feel the warmth of his body.

How she wished she could claim that warm, dry yet sweet lips of his again.

How she wished he was on her side, for ephemeral.

"Nishida- _ _san__?"

Irie turned back to see a familiar figure, who had been living near her for years now. For him to say that word to her meaning that he's just asking if she's thinking about Nishida again, for how many times already that he didn't have to ask again.

"Well, how should I say it..."

"You don't have to frown like that." The guy said. "I may not know what happened between you and that purple-haired assassin, but based on what you told me, you just don't want to be separated from him anymore, do you?"

"Isn't that too obvious?" Irie replied. "I mean, well, I almost told you everything, very clearly, so... I don't know what to say."

"That reminds me...I wonder if the other Afterlife members had reincarnated somewhere. Did you think they're living near us too?"

"Well, like Hinata had said to Yui, the odds are one-to-six billion. But who knows, actually? Irie replied.

"Sigh...well...I'm really starting to miss those guys, just like you missed that husband of yours, no?"

"S...Sorry?" Irie's face heated up on the mention of that word.

"Just kidding. Just kidding." The guy replied. "Anyway, the sun has set. Should we go back together?"

"Oh, Are you going to woo some girls passing by in front of the apartment?" Irie chuckled.

"It's not like that! Besides, my case is just a girl waiting for me in front of an apartment, and not me waiting for some girls passing by." The guy said. "It's not like she was still here, anyway."

"Oops, I...I don't mean it like that. Sorry." Irie said. "Maybe you can go home by yourself, I still have somewhere to go. See you next time, Ooyama- _ _san__!"

"You too, Irie- _ _san__."

* * *

-Around 7AM, the next day, NY-

"I can't believe this...7 in the morning, really?"

"Well, one of our suspect is a master of a Dojo. I can't argue on that." Nishida replied. "Anyway, what information did we get?"

"The victim's named Saion-ji Shuuzo, a Japanese who naturalized into an American, like you. He was a disciple at the Song Xia Dojo. As for the suspects until this time, we've got the Dojo Master, usually called Master Song Xia, no one knows if he's Japanese, Chinese or American. And then his disciple Trevor Westermann, a German foreigner who had been here for nearly a year, though I wonder if they could speak English or not?" Beltrand gave out the information.

"Just ask when we're interrogating them." Nishida said. "You can hit the gas now, or should I? Since I saw you looked sleepy..."

"Well, my GF just chatted with me until late in the night, so I don't think I got enough sleep."

"Okay then, let me hit the gas."

Nishida then drove both of them onto a Dojo near the outskirts of New York. As they reached the Dojo, Nishida's eyes was suddenly focused on one thing, the Name Platform in front of the Dojo.

It was written in Kanji, or actually a Traditional Chinese writings, however even Nishida could decipher it by himself.

" _ _M...Masaka!__ Don't tell me, Master Song Xia is..."

"We're from NYPD, anybody home?" Beltrand shouted from outside the gates.

"I must say, Beltrand, that was silly."

"It's not like you have a better idea."

"Whatever..." Their bickering was stopped by a quite large man opening the gates for them. "Welcome, how can I help you two?"

Nishida couldn't believe his eyes.

"M...Matsushita __go-dan__?"

"Eh, it's been a long time since I used that name. How do you know..." Matsushita suddenly recognized one of the officers in front of him, the one with the purple hair.

"Aren't you...Shugo Nishida?"

Nishida nodded. "It's been a while, isn't it?"

"Right. Oh, by the way, sorry if we can't enjoy our reunion a bit longer, can I ask you something?"

"Oh, sure, what is it?"

"Do you have a disciple named Trevor Westermann?"

"Oh, of course, let me call him for you." Matsushita said as he entered the Dojo again. Nishida quickly took out his phone and called a familiar number.

"Beltrand, I'm having a call, could you please ask Matsushita...I mean Master Song Xia and his disciple about these photos? I'll be joining you after this."

"Alright, leave it to me."

Nishida went to the car, and at the same time, his call was accepted.

"Otonashi- _ _san__ , I've found another Battlefront member."

* * *

 ** **A/N: Alright, sorry for the short chapter! To be honest, I've been quite busy in my holiday since I enrolled in an intensive course for German Language. That takes most of my time too.****

 ** **Yeah, actually I only planned to insert Matsushita**** ** _ _ **go-dan**__** ** **in the story for this chap, but I think it would be a bit unfair to Irie if she's by herself, so I just put in Ooyama to accompany her.****

 ** **Anyway, Song Xia**** ** **could be**** ** **written**** ** **in both Traditional and Simplified Chinese**** ** **as:**** ** **松下**** ** **, which in the Japanese language could be read as**** **"** ** **Matsu Shita, or Matsushita**** **"** ** **, and in the anime opening it was also written like that, right?****

 ** **I**** **'** ** **m still finding time to update this story. I hope I could find them.****

 ** **Please R &R! Constructive Reviews and Critics are appreciated while flames are prohibited. Thank you and see you soon!****

 ** **Kage****


	5. Being Professional

**A/N: Hello everyone! Kage here!**

 **I'm really, really sorry for not updating for so long, I guess I got a heck of writer's block thinking about the plots. I mean, I already got most of the crucial ideas, but the problem is: I have to think about the fillers and the connecting chapters, which is a very troublesome yet crucial thing one story must have.**

 **And so, since I'm learning German now while I'm continuing my studies in the said country, I might be inserting some sentences in German as well as in Japanese, but since I'm not too good at it then I'm sorry if it's a bit inappropriate.**

 **Oh, and for the review from the one and only** **Enilorac Eiram** :

 **Yeah, it would be pretty unfair if Irie's left out alone, so it would be nice to add some Battlefront members in with her.**

 **And actually, I put Nishida a bit like double-agent here. He's actually a metro police officer, like the guys who went onto a crime scene after a 911 call and directly apprehend the suspect reported. However, his boss is a CSI agent, and eventually it won't hurt if he could be included in one homicide/suicide case, will it?**

 **IDK if I already bit more than I could chew…writing a crime scene with the investigation is pretty much a hard work, but I'll try my best to complete it, or maybe if it's too hard, I'll summarize it in one go. After all we're focusing on the Battlefront here since this is an Angel Beats! Fic and not CSI:NY fic XD.**

 **Yeah, so (Nishida not included), we have Otonashi and Kanade, then Matsushita, then Irie and Ooyama, grouped into three groups since they haven't met with the other. And eventually it could grow faster than you could think. Glad to see them all, though!**

 **Thanks for the review!**

* * *

 **So, here's the chapter!**

Chapter 5: Being Professional

(Another Member, closer than they think)

* * *

-Song Xia Dojo Park-

(Just to make it short, after such encounter, they decided to take a seat nearby)

(With Beltrand)

" _Sitzen Sie, bitte",_ Beltrand asked one of the suspects, Trevor Westermann, to take a seat on one of the benches. _"Familienname ist Westermann, vorname ist Trevor. Ist das richtig?"_

Trevor just nodded, although he didn't even say a word. His face was emotionless but Beltrand knew he might be hiding something, probably guilt, anxiety, or maybe annoyance.

" _Ach so, Herr Westermann, sprechen Sie Englisch? Oder mussen wir diese Befragung in Deutsch weitersprechen?"_

"Have it your way."

Beltrand don't mind of the somehow impolite reply. Though after all he just got the answer himself from that plain reply: In English.

Well, he did answer in English so might as well continue it in English. That's pretty simple.

"All right then, let's just get down to business, Mr. Westermann." Beltrand said, taking out a photo of the victim while he was still alive. "Do you know this guy?"

Trevor just stayed silent while looking at the photo, before he decided to answer it.

"Yes, that's Shoe Jaw, my colleague, right?"

Beltrand tried to hide a smirk hearing that answer. He absolutely can't blame him for that since he was somehow in the same boat, if not for his Japanese colleague who had been working with him for some moments now.

Ridiculousness aside, Beltrand respected that answer because apparently it was not as annoying as he might think, that the suspects just said that he didn't know the victim or that sort of drama.

"Ah, you mean Shuuzo (Beltrand had a hard time reading this as well though). And yes, he is."

"Right. So why are you asking about him?"

"Well, the truth is…he was found dead on the street around five blocks away from here."

Trevor's face was still quite emotionless. No one knew if he was dumbstruck or not, just a plain face. Though what he might say might be different.

"That's awfully surprising. I offer my deep condolences to his family."

"I will tell his family about that." Beltrand replied. "Though, that's quite an unexpected reaction I might think. Don't you somehow feel bad of the loss of your colleague?"

"I felt bad, but I can't express more than that. Shoe Jaw and I are not close, both of us are quite a silent type so we hardly interacted with each other." he replied.

"Alright, thank you. For now, if you're willing to, you can tell me where you are the past 24 hours."

Beltrand knew he was too soft for this, he's quite not suited to this kind of act but he knew he did his best.

"Sure, I was in the Dojo until 18.00, and after that I went to the Pizza stall just across this building, then I went home. If you want, I could write my address for you, is it okay?

"Alright sure, but could you tell me who can prove that?"

"At the Dojo, you can ask the chief of this Dojo, which is with your friend, I see? And you can also ask the pizza store owner. As in the house, you can ask my wife there."

"Sure, for a suspect you sure gave us a lot of information. We'll end our conversation here. And one more thing."

"Hm?"

"Would you also cooperate by giving us a saliva and fingerprint sample?"

"Sure thing."

* * *

-At the same time, with Nishida-

"So, Matsushita _go-dan_ …"

"I'm now using Song Xia as my name, but since we've already known each other pretty well, so I might as well give an exception." Matsushita said.

"That's quite formal. And as much as I wanted to talk about anything Battlefront-related, unfortunately I'm on duty so I would finish it as soon as possible. So, can I ask you a few questions?"

"Sure, I wonder why must you ask that?"

"To make sure I'm on the right trail of my job." Nishida replied. "Alright, things aside…I know you own this Dojo, am I right?

"Yes, you're absolutely right."

"And as such, you might know this person right here?" Nishida then took out the photo of the victim, instead of the living one like Beltrand did, he took out the real condition of the victim. Of course, the photo shocked the said Dan.

"That's Saion-ji, one of my disciples, right? What happened to him?"

"Well, I wish I know what happened as well, and that's why I have to ask you some questions. I hope you didn't mind."

"Of course, I won't mind."

"Alright, so, how's your relation with the victim, Mat…I mean Master Song Xia?" Nishida said with an atmosphere of professionality, which made the Dojo master chuckle for a moment, before turning serious again.

"I wouldn't say that we're on good terms, but I won't say we're on bad terms either. After all he's a good assistant, but truthfully speaking, Westermann is better than him.

"Better? What kind of "better" are we talking about here?"

"Well, as an assistant of the Dojo, one should learn to live in one, and to take care of the Dojo. Saion-ji did this well, but Westermann is better, like, he cleaned his room tidier, and then also did better at most housework. That pretty much covers many of them."

"I see." Nishida replied. "How about in Martial Arts? Who is better?"

"Oh, for that, I might say Saion-ji is much better, since it seems like he's more diligent in that term." Matsushita replied.

"Alright, thanks for the information." Nishida said. "As much as I wanted to talk more, especially regarding the Battlefront, I would have to end our conversation after asking you for a DNA and fingerprint sample, if you mind, that is."

"I'm surprised if you're asking me unclearly like that." Matsushita said. "I'll oblige, hopefully if it could erase my name from the suspect list, if you know what I mean."

"Well, let's see about that." Nishida replied.

"One thing, though." Matsushita interrupted. "If, by the worst case, should everything take turn to the worse, I would advise you to keep being professional."

Nishida was surprised, but eventually nodded and smiled.

"I will."

* * *

-Few moments later-

"Agent Nishida, Agent Beltrand?"

A short-haired man, which is very familiar to them, called the two. It was a few hours after the interrogation and it was nearing lunchtime, so they might expect their boss to call them directly like that.

"Boss Flack, something the matter?" Beltrand asked.

"I must say, you two did quite well on the interrogation. I heard that you obtained a lot of information yourselves." Flack said.

"Ah, you're exaggerating. We just did what we could." Nishida humbly replied.

"But, this is your first time doing investigative job like this, since technically you're not from the CSI." Flack replied. "Though, speaking of which, I wonder if you know the identity of one of our suspects, Nishida?"

Flack of course referred to none other than Master Song Xia, or rather Matsushita _go-dan_. But wait…

Nishida quickly facepalmed…he forgot that the interrogation was recorded!

"So, why do you call him Matsushita _go-dan_? And what's with the Battlefront thing whatsoever?" Flack asked.

Nishida was dumbfounded at the question. How the heck should he answer that. Because he eventually cannot explain about all the Battlefront to his colleague and boss, or he would be labeled crazy.

So he should come up with a scenario.

"Uh…so, there's a kind of roleplaying game, that tells about the story of life after death or sort. The Battlefront is one group of it, so we roleplayed in our group and interact like that. Yeah, probably that covered some. And Matsushita is just his name read in Japanese, that's all."

Well, he's not fully lying on that part, though. He would expect some silly comments or whatsoever.

He didn't expect a shocking answer for his boss, though.

"I see, I started to believe your explanation, anyway." Flack said.

"What do you mean?"

"There's a girl in the PCT-Division who is also believed to be a part of this Battlefront whatsoever, and when she was asked, she did explain exactly the same like you did…"

.

.

Wait…what?

Come to think of it, Nishida was never in eye-contact with the PCT-Division, despite the fact that he always got orders from the said Division during his job.

Thus, it's practically possible that there might be another Battlefront member.

"She's a new recruit, and eventually is also having Japanese blood inside her. Talk about a coincidence, huh?"

Nishida was silent, still shocked while taking every information he could on his head.

"Nishida?"

"Can you describe about this girl? Like, her appearance, her personality, or something?" Nishida asked in full curiosity.

"I could tell you…but, it would be better if you just see her for yourself." Flack said. "This Sunday, we're going to go to a nearby bar for our colleague's birthday, and the PCT-Division members said that they will come too, including that girl."

"Uh... why didn't you just tell me directly right now?" Nishida asked.

"Because it would be more fun this way, don't you think?" Flack said.

"I don't think so."

"Oh, well, hopefully this case could be finished before Sunday, so we can go there, and Nishida could finally fulfill his curiosity." Beltrand said as he smirked at Nishida.

"Thank you for stating the obvious, Beltrand."

"Anyway, I really would like to see how you "roleplay" in this Battlefront thing whatsoever." Beltrand said. "It might be fun just to watch that."

"Trust me, it won't be fun to watch, it would be confusing instead."

"Nahh…we had already dealt with confusing criminal acts as well, I suspect this is nothing." Flack suddenly chimed in, resulting Beltrand to laugh. "Jokes aside, we better kept prepared for an order from either the PCT or Mac, alright?"

"Sure thing, boss." Nishida and Beltrand answered simultaneously.

The day continued just like the usual, at least for the said New Yorker. But for a certain purple-haired guy, it would be a day filled with curiosity…

…and it would continue until next Sunday.

Could it be her?

Could it be the girl he had been waiting for his life?

.

.

.

Who might she be?

* * *

 **Okay, so that's all with the fifth chapter. Whoa…it took me so long to publish this. I really have no idea whatsoever regarding this. I have yet to watch CSI: NY and Angel Beats for God knows how long, I started to forget how the crew's personality are.**

 **One question though: I'm not planning this story to be very long, but what do you think? Should I introduce one member in every chapter? Or should I make it longer by introducing a few members in many chapters, like 1-2 members every 4 chapters or sort? If I planned for 24 chapters like the prequel, then I might go with the first option, but then the plot will be poorly developed, and I know that is annoying af. If I choose the second option, the story will be longer and IDK if I could finish it quickly or not, since I have quite some business in my real life as well.**

 **Oh yeah, PCT stands for Police Communications Technicians. They technically are the guys that might respond to your 911 call, if you're wondering. The division contains the 911 officers, who are answering the call, and the radio dispatchers, who gave the order to the police officers.**

 **Anyhow, hopefully you guys enjoy this chapter.**

 **Thank you and see you soon!**

 **Kage**


	6. About The Operation

**Another update!**

 **After such chaos at my study and my other book, I finally had a chance to turn my attention to this ongoing fiction. I realized that I can't skip on this and I still have to do my best despite myself not watching AB for almost one year (or even more) now.**

 **This chapter will not focus entirely on Nishida. I'm trying to blend in so I'm not getting too OC-Centric this time. This will be separated in many parts, one of Otonashi and Kanade, one of Nishida, and two other from (not so) secret character (which you could already guess)**

 **Anyway, for the review from** **Enilorac Eiram** **:**

 **Well, it's been a while also for me to watch that kind of shows, and well, this was hard, but I'll do my best. Unfortunately though, the continuation of the case will not be in this chapter. This chapter will just be a filler chapter so I'm sorry if you're discouraged because of that.**

 **Well, that's a pretty accurate guess, I think? Yes, Shiina and Yusa got a pretty high probability of being the officer, and Yusa has a higher probability. Well…it's too obvious, isn't it, but you're going probably at the right direction. Who knows, though?**

 **Yeah, I guess I'll take that. I'm trying to deepen the plot and so it won't come too rushed. Hopefully I had enough spirit to finish this story, because I actually planned it to connect with another extra sequel (I've made roughly the estimation of the chapter, but I haven't done much to it), but again, it's useless if I can't finish this story.**

 **Thank you! And hopefully we can do our best to balance our business in real life and this fictional writing.**

 **Thanks for the review!**

* * *

 **And without further ado, here's the (filler) chapter!**

Chapter 6: About the Operation

* * *

-Meanwhile, in the hospital not far from the NYPD Precinct-

"Excuse me, madam." A certain soft voice was calling for a nearby nurse who's just passing by. The nurse turned to see a face not very familiar but recognizable enough for her.

"Ah, Mrs. Otonashi, I see. Are you here to see your husband?"

Kanade just nodded and showed a smile, without actually saying anything. It might be a bit strange for some people but it's not that significant for most members of the hospital, or at least the ones who knew a certain heart specialist that's quite known for some reasons.

"He's at his usual praxis room at the west wing, 3rd floor, room 322. Though, it's almost the end of his work time so you could wait outside the room if you want."

"Alright, thank you for the information." Kanade replied softly and was going to go before she was stopped for a while.

"Wait, I'm also on my way there too, coincidentally, so I could escort you, if I may."

"Oh, sure."

"So, how's Yuzuru doing on his work lately? I haven't heard much about it since he's a bit secretive when it comes to work." Kanade asked.

"Well, I wasn't much of an experienced nurse to know everyone and everything. But, I could tell that he's quite… unique."

"How so?"

"He's not the best doctor that we have of course, since he still lacks in a few aspect, especially because he's still green. But he stands out of many other doctors for his determination and hard work. He's improving pretty quickly too." The nurse said.

"That's a relief to hear that." Kanade replied. "Well, that's Yuzuru for you, as there is a goal, he will not hesitate."

"You should be honored and proud to be his wife, then."

Kanade just blushed faintly at the remark. "T…That's"

"Oh, Mrs. Beltrand, and Kanade!"

The two women stopped their conversation and realized that a certain man, speak of the devil, had just exited his room and had just taken out his name tag on the door, signing that he indeed had just finished his praxis hours.

"dr. Otonashi, I've got a letter from the head Doctor of your department." The nurse said as she handed down the envelope on her hand, then smirked. "And I think your wife here just wanted to visit you like usual."

"L…Like usual? I don't think Kanade come often here."

"Oh, look at the time, I gotta go. See you again, youngsters." The nurse quickly made her way off from there, leaving the couple a bit curious and confused…or…only one of them, actually.

"Well, what's with that nurse?"

"It's nothing. She just liked teasing people, that's all." Otonashi replied. "By the way, what brings you here, Kanade?"

"My shift today started a bit earlier, so I think I could as well stop by here first." Kanade replied. "Besides, I might want to talk to you for a moment."

Otonashi just smiled. "When is your shift?"

"At 16.15"

"Then we still had a little time. Mind if we talk at the cafetaria?"

* * *

-Cafetaria-

It's not a crowded place at that time, since it's not lunch time and snacks are just on-the-go. It's not empty with no people as well, just a comfortable swaying silence with just a few people in it.

Which, for the couple, is actually a bit nostalgic, as this reminded them on one of their "unforgettable" moments when they're back at the Afterlife, albeit without the terrible "continuation" involving somebody proclaiming himself as "God".

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Otonashi asked.

Kanade didn't look that worried, but Otonashi knew very well that there's something concerning her.

"Kanade?"

"Sorry, I'm a bit too deep in thought for a moment." Kanade looked down, before facing her husband once again. "It's just, about the operation."

"Are we talking about the operation we started together with Nishida?"

"Well, what do you think?"

"You do realize I'm a doctor, right?"

"I thought you didn't have any operations scheduled?"

"I know, I'm joking." Otonashi laughed for a moment, before turning serious again. "So, what's about the operation?"

Kanade hesitated for a moment.

"About the operation, I don't know if I could be of a good use…"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not a part of the Battlefront back then."

Otonashi was a bit dumbfounded by the straight-to-the-point answer. But he knew better what's actually inside her head.

She was in fact telling the truth, yes. But not something that actually made sense to him.

Yes, she's not in the Battlefront. In fact, she was "against" it in a way, well, at least in someone's perspective. After all she's the SCP back then, and the Battlefront is like, well, admit it, the delinquents.

Otonashi knew that, but he knew better. After all the commotions, about the "acquaintance-bonding", err…not exactly a good choice of words…about the "bonding" the two had in some way, about the truth that eventually lies deep behind all the commotions, there's practically proving something more on the positive way.

She was not in the Battlefront, but she WAS part of the reason it was formed, and all the operations it had made.

"And, what if you're not in the Battlefront?" Otonashi asked. "You might have not be in the Battlefront, but you knew it by yourself that it was you who eventually, though indirectly, controlled it's way. We had Yuri as our leader, but her actions are again based on you, so it also felt that you're also steering the Battlefront as well."

"But…"

"Trust me. You'll be doing great in this operation. You're already our ally at the very end of our Battlefront, and it would always stay like that. I know I will always count on your help too, Kanade." Otonashi said as he patted her head, just like back then, with the same familiar warmth and smile.

It would always warm enough to let the usually emotionless-looking young woman showed her generous smile. Nothing for the best for the Otonashi family.

"Thank you, Yuzuru." Kanade said, before standing up and prepared her leave.

"You're leaving already?"

"Well, just see the time."

Kanade just pointed at the clock nearby, which showed a few minutes before her shift started.

"Ah, I see then. Good luck!" Otonashi said as he put his lips on her forehead, and letting his wife go.

"Oh, and I think you will kiss her on the lips, doctor."

A voice chimed on his back, belonging to someone he already knew…

"You seemed to enjoy this, Mrs. Beltrand."

"Well, I just reminded on my younger times, that's all."

"Oh well…speaking of which…why are you here?" Otonashi asked.

"Why, just buying some pastries for my snack time."

"Of course…why didn't I know…it's not like you're here to spy us anyway."

"Of course not, dear."

* * *

-NYPD-

"Suspect's last seen at 5th Harper Avenue. Lightly-armed, no cars, and is reported for attempted homicide."

"Officer Nishida and Officer Beltrand, responding to the call, reporting on duty." Beltrand said before hitting the gas towards the location.

"It's been a few days since that case's report. And yet it doesn't look like we're on a good track. I wonder what's wrong? You knew something, West?"

Nishida's eye twitched again on the nickname but eventually he's already gotten used to it, so he wouldn't press on the matter too much. "Well, Flack didn't say anything about it, so probably Mac and the others are still working on it. Homicide's not an easy case to crack, that's for sure."

"Yeah, true. But I wonder if we could finish the case before Sunday, so we can eventually come to the party, and you can finally meet this "Battlefront"-claiming girl."

"You seemed like you're enjoying this." Nishida said, annoyed. "At the second traffic light, go take a turn to the right."

"Way to redirect my words."

"That's because we're on work, and look, we've just passed the first traffic light and you're still taking the left lane…"

Beltrand finally noticed.

"Aw…shucks…West, hold on tight."

Beltrand quickly made a move on the car so that it moves to the right lane just barely before the light. "Oof, luckily there aren't many other cars…"

"More luckily that no one's looking at you doing that." Nishida said. "Just focus on the road now, we can continue the talk later."

* * *

-A few minutes later, PCT-Control Room-

" _We had apprehended the suspect, we're on our way back for questioning."_

"Good job, officers." One of the control officers said as she closed the report, before leaving her post since her shift is done for the moment.

"For a newcomer, you surely have a good way with your job." Another officer said. "Are you sure you had never done something like this before?"

"No, I haven't." Come the reply from the said newcomer, stoically, either because she was still not used to the job and becoming nervous, or maybe it was her personality from the start.

"Oh yeah, speaking of which, the two officers that had been dispatched on your duty, I heard that they would also come together with their boss to the party next Sunday. How about you, would you like to come too?"

The girl was still emotionless. But eventually she gave an answer.

"I'm not used to parties, but maybe I might as well make an exception for this time." She replied.

"Cool, then let me know your final decision at Saturday."

"Okay."

The girl then went back to her work area, and thought by herself.

'Besides, I needed to have a word or two with a certain one of them.'

* * *

-At the same time, Mannheim Hauptbahnhof (Mannheim Main Station)-

" _Gleis 2, ICE 254, nach Dortmund,_ _ü_ _ber Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof, abfahrt 16.34: Der Zug kommt heute an."_

(Translation: Rail no. 2, (train) ICE 254 to Dortmund, via Frankfurt Airport (Far-Distance Train) Station, departing at 16.34: The train arrives now).

A girl was waiting on the waiting place. Two luggages is on her hand and also with her a small backpack.

As the train arrived, her long brown-reddish hair flows with the wind gust the train made, revealing actually a sight beautiful to see. Combined with a soft smile and irises that has roughly the same color as her hair, and a cute face despite her now grown-up age, she practically stunned some of the people there.

Or maybe that's just an exaggeration.

"It's just a few more days before the 4th of July. I wonder how my brother is doing." The girl thought. "No matter, I'll be back home tomorrow and I can't wait to see him soon!"

And with that, she entered the train.

* * *

 **Too obvious who the two mysterious girls are, right?**

 **Anyway, I'm having one month of break from the Uni, but that doesn't mean I'm not busy, especially when my parents wanted me to have a part-time job, so I can't guarantee a quick update as well.**

 **Sorry for the short and just-a-filler chapter. Actually I wanted to insert more but I'm a bit too tired to write one. So let's stop here for awhile.**

 **I've been calculating the number of possible chapters, and I could say it may hit more than 24 chapters, but since I'm a bit too lazy, each chapter might be short like this.**

 **Please R &R. As usual, constructive reviews and critics are appreciated while flames are prohibited.**

 **Thank you and see you soon!**

 **Kage**


	7. Investigation

**Back with another chapter! This chapter is skippable if you didn't want to read, but read the brackets below to assure you. Review replies and proper prologue will be given on the next chapter. Thank you!**

Chapter 6.5: More Investigation

(This is more to the CSI part so it's not an official chapter. You can skip this, but I recommended you to read it so you won't be confused on what happened in part of the 7th Chapter. Though if you're not interested in the case you can skip this part.)

* * *

-Before the interrogation, CSI Lab-

"So, I have checked the autopsy on the victim here." Sid, the "doctor" of the CSI team stated.

"Alright. So, your findings?" Mac asked

"So, basically it's a bit boring for the likes of you guys." Sid sighed. "I could say for sure that this guy has bullets on a non-lethal part of the body instead of direct shot to the head or heart. And I could find around three or four bullets of the same kind on four different parts of his body that is actually distant from each other. Take a look at this."

Sid then showed Mac the bullet wounds, showing that he was shot in four different parts in such a strange way, one on his right femur (thigh), one on his left shoulder, one on his left hand and one on his stomach.

"That's pretty much of a bullet spread…"

"And these four, outside of the abdomen part, is a non-lethal wound, or at least it won't directly kill him. Also, victim died of blood-loss." Sid said. "My suggestion would be he was tortured with the gunshots, or…"

"The culprit is a non-professional gunner and shot him from a distance." Mac said

"And, if you saw that bullet from the abdomen, I could say that it's probably just a bullet of .357 or something similar." Sid added

"Which means it could be just a pistol, and the distance we're talking about is actually near." Mac said. "Any other findings, like wounds or something?"

"That's also surprising though." Sid then shows that there indeed are some wounds on his back and some on face and chest. "But this wounds doesn't look like coming from a blunt trauma, it's more like wounds from a fight."

"A fight…hmm…" Mac thought for a moment. "So, the victim fought back when he was assaulted?"

"That's a possible scenario, but then, why shooting him from the distance afterwards? He can actually be shot in close combat." Sid asked.

"Probably he left the gun in the car and took it afterwards." Mac said. "Let's recap what we found with the others before we continued to make a hypothesis."

"Sure, and I'd hope if you can take this to Lindsay and Danny as well."

* * *

-Timeskip-

"So, from our division, we might find a little connection to the victim." Adam, of the "IT" division said. "It seemed like the victim is a Japanese, and is working at the Dojo not far from here, no criminal records."

"Good, and what did you get?" Mac said.

"Not much about his family except them being back in Japan, since they had no immigration records, exception if they're coming in illegally."

"Ok, we probably can take that into account later, but do you have any other names beside the family?"

"Let's see." Adam said. "We also got a Chinese name "Song Xia", which after I inspected more, coincides with the name of the Dojo the victim worked in. Apparently he's the master of the Dojo. No criminal records."

"Good, any other else?"

"Another one is a German named Trevor Westermann, also working at the same Dojo. No major criminal records except driving under the influence."

"Well, if there's one thing a German could eventually be accosted for, is driving while being drunk…" Mac smirked.

"And that's all the suspect list for now."

"Alright then." Mac said. "I'll get Flack's team to investigate the two of them. As for you, you can keep finding another possible suspect. Keep up the good work, Adam."

"Thanks, Mac."

Mac then left the IT area while thinking, 'If this is a case relating Asian people, I really thought I could ask for that officer's help.' So he dialed Flack's number.

"Officer Flack, reporting. Is there something to do, Mac?"

"Bring Nishida and Beltrand with you, we had a list of suspects to interrogate."

* * *

-The Next Day-

"Sorry if the result came in late." Lindsay of the Forensic Team said. "We had a little problem with the analysis, but eventually it came out okay."

"No problem, so what did you get."

"The bullet, just like you and Sid had thought, is a .357, and it really came out from a P228, judging from its impact." Lindsay said.

"Alright, so we have a guess for a murder weapon. Do you have another findings?"

"Actually, this is interesting. We also find several fingerprints on victim's robe. And it's a match with one of the suspects, Trevor Westermann."

"And, how old is the fingerprint?"

"Counting from the predicted time of death, it's around 3-4 hours before it."

"That means they were in contact at that time. Around 17.00-18.00." Mac said.

"Which, according to the interrogation by Beltrand, means that he is still inside the Dojo, if he's not lying." Jo added

"But we won't know until we confirmed it with the Dojo Master again." Lindsay added. "Though, I could add another thing. I found something interesting at the saliva sample given by Westermann."

Lindsay then proceeded to give the record to Jo.

"PCP?"

"A normal dose of PCP, but judging from it's concentration, I could pinpoint that he inhales something containing safe level of PCP at around 20.00.

"Something containing safe level at PCP…I would suggest a sleeping cure." Danny added. "Moreover there's a little additional ingredients of a much lower concentration. It won't be a 100% guarantee, but it's nearly 99% chance that he consumed a sleeping cure around that time."

"Which leaves Westermann actually out of the suspect list. Then what about the remaining suspect, the Dojo Master?" Mac said.

"I'd suggest bringing him for questioning. But this time I won't ask Nishida to bring him in since, if you heard the recording, might have a relation with the suspect." Mac said. "I'll ask Hawkes."

* * *

-Interrogation Part 2-

"So, I would like to confirm something more about what happened during the day your employee was killed." Mac said.

"Of course, I'll gladly help." Matsushita, who was brought in, replied.

"I will not show this recording to Agent Nishida or something so I want you to answer truthfully."

Matsushita smiled. "Even if you showed it, I'll tell the truth. I told him to be professional, didn't I?"

"Right. So tell me, what happened two days ago between 17.00-18.00 in the Dojo?"

Matsushita kept silent, remembering what happened, but eventually his memory didn't fail him.

"Ah, 17.00…that time we have a martial-arts training. That day of course both Shuuzo and Westermann are having a weekly face-off. It was pretty much surprising as Westermann managed to actually landed a good hit on Shuuzo, even a throwdown once."

"Is this hit including some on face and chest?"

"As the matter of fact, yes. That's something he shouldn't have done too often though. He even apologized for it."

' _That explains the blunt force trauma on victim's back and the wounds on his face and chest'_ Mac thought. "And then, what happens after 18.00?

"Westermann was heading home as usual. Shuuzo stays in until around 20.30." Matsushita said. "He decided to go back after he got a phone call."

Mac was surprised. _'A phone call?'_

"Do you know from who?"

"I did ask that, but he only said that it's from a friend. So I decided not to butt in from there." Matsushita replied again.

' _If that's true, that means the call was made around 30 minutes before ToD, and judging from the distance, it's quite far except with vehicles._ '

"One other thing, do you have any guns in your possession?"

"Guns?" Matsushita said. "I did, but I never used it anymore since a few years ago…"

"Is it okay if I took it for investigation purposes?" Mac asked.

"Sure, it was on the Dojo, I could bring you there." Matsushita said. Mac then stopped the recording and got up

"Alright, thank you for the time, Master Song Xia." Mac said. "I'll ask my underling to escort you to retrieve the gun."

"You're welcome."

* * *

-The Next Day-

"Report on the new findings, everyone."

"Okay, I'll start." Hawkes said. "I escorted Master Song Xia back to the Dojo, and he gave me the gun he used. I could process a search warrant for extra investigation if you liked, because it seems like the master didn't mind.

"He gave us a lot of information, but still, that's pretty suspicious." Mac said. "So, about the gun?"

"It was a Desert Eagle .50. A pistol with that caliber would make a higher piercing rate than the ones found in the body. What's more, it was dusty and almost unusable, proving that actually it was long since used." Lindsay said.

"So that's not our murder weapon." Mac added.

"And moreover, I think he did really say the truth, and actually there's something I got from the phone conversation." Adam said. "I did miss that for once, but there's a call at 20.28 at the day of the murder."

"Just as the Master said." Jo added. "And from who is the call?"

"Now this is interesting. It was showing Westermann's number."

"So, he's not asleep?"

"Don't know, but here's the point, hear it out."

The team heard the recording played, it was a short conversation saying that the victim should come to a place. Though, there are two things that was very essential there.

"That was a female sound." Lindsay said.

"Right, and she asked the victim to come to the place where the murder took place." Danny said.

"You didn't mess with the sound, right Adam?" Mac said.

"Of course not."

"That gives us the culprit, and it was connected to Westermann." Mac said. "Can you search about Westermann's family info again?"

"Okay wait, processing."

.

.

.

"Got it, apparently Westermann lived with his wife."

"Okay that's one big payout." Mac said.

"Wait…oh my…this isn't good." Adam said. "She's going to leave NY back to Frankfurt using a flight at 16.10 today."

"That's two hours before the boarding time. Curses…"

"An arrest couldn't be made without knowing where the weapon is…"

"Excuse me, everyone!" Suddenly Flack came into the office. "I brought news."

"What is it?"

"Westermann's turning himself in, with a gun in hand."

* * *

To Be Continued


	8. Case Closed

**This is the actual continuation of Chapter 6. Though, you would like to read Chapter 6,5 so you won't be confused on what happen at the first part of this chapter.**

 **As for the review by** **Enilorac Eiram** **:**

 **Well, glad you like it. And yup, that moment is one worth cherishing, of course it would be adorably cute and essential.**

 **Yes, they really need that. And that's Otonashi all right. As a…ehem…caring husband for Kanade, he would do his best, right?**

 **The mysterious girl's identity will be here. The second one is not inserted here, but she will be introduced in the latter chapters, but I know pretty well that you know who she is since it was very obvious.**

 **Let's see what I can do with her. Or maybe I can ship her with someone XD…not thinking that far ahead though.**

 **Thanks for the review!**

 **And so here's the newest chapter!**

Chapter 7- Case Closed

* * *

-Saturday, 15.00 AM-

It's practically just another typical day for our two metro police officers (who eventually has crossed path to special agent because of their boss).

"Back to lame 'ol metro duty." Beltrand said. "I wonder how the case involving that friend of yours is going."

"It was your idea that we somehow secured two distinctive position here in NYPD at once, right? Though, come to think of it, it has been a few days passed and we're not informed of any advances throughout the case. I wonder what happened." Nishida replied

"Yeah, right…it's like we've been left out. I wanted to know how it goes, you know?"

"Well, we're mostly metro officers, we happened to work under Boss Flack that we eventually had access to special agent work, you know? We didn't have to know everything about the case…"

"Still, I'm curious…aren't you, West?"

"Why are we repeating the same question…"

"Hey, Nishida, Beltrand!" Suddenly they heard a call from their boss, pausing their chat and diverted their attention to the said officer. "Speak of the devil, I heard you guys are talking about the case, right?"

Nishida and Beltrand nodded.

"Then get your stuff and take a ride, we're going to close this case A.S.A.P." Flack said, surprising the two officers.

"Eh…but…"

"Let's go, we have no much time! I'll fill you in later."

" _Fill you in later"_

" _Fill in"_

" _Fill in the dark beats…"_

" _Your light had filled in the dark beats…"_

"Nishida, you okay?" Flack suddenly woke him up from his trance. The purple-hair just nodded. "I'm okay, sorry."

"Then quick, to the car."

The three then walked quickly into the elevator to the basement. Though Nishida was still shocked about the quick resonating thought that disturbed him for a while.

"What the hell… why did that suddenly appear?…"

* * *

"Westermann's turning himself in?" Nishida asked, surprised by the information given by Flack.

"Yes. Apparently he came to our office to meet Mac. Of course that's a bit suspicious, but well Mac did apparently welcome him, and after that he decided that he turned himself in, saying that he did kill Shuuzo." Flack explained.

"Then, is that weird?" Beltrand said. "If Westermann's decided to turn himself in, that means he's already at the precinct, right?" he asked. "So, why are we going to the direction of the airport now?"

"Well, I thought you had figured it out." Flack said. "Did you figure it out, Nishida."

Nishida thought for a bit, before saying. "Well, I will say… that if we go to an airport on duty, it's to take custody of a fleeing suspect, or taking samples. But you did say we solved the case, right?"

"I would say 'almost'" Flack replied. "We've solved the case if we got a confession from the perpetrator."

"But, we have Westermann turning himself in. And yet we still have this pursuit, that can only mean one thing:"

"Westermann's not the culprit." Beltrand said it out. "So, that Master Song Xia is the culprit?"

"Not him as well." Flack said. "You'll find out everything when we're there. Now, just focus on the road."

"Well, I hate to be left out like this, but we have no choice. Time's a wastin', right?" Beltrand said as he sped up. "Next stop, the JFK."

* * *

-John F. Kennedy International Airport-

-Time: 15.33 AM-

(Well I'm not from the USA so IDK about the Traffic Jams or sort in NY, I only got from the internet that their distance is around 18,5 miles, so let's assume they arrived without jams)

" _Attention please, Passengers of Lufthansa Airlines, LH401 to Frankfurt. Your flight is delayed due to technical issues. It will be scheduled now for boarding at 16.55. We apologize for the delay. Thank You."_

"Ugh…now that's the last thing I want to hear. Why now? Is the renowned German aviation having problems of their own right now?" A young woman grumbled. "And it's 45 minutes, moreover…that's an annoying delay."

"Well, I would like to say that 45 minutes is still way better, I'm afraid." A sound suddenly emerged from the back, to see a group of police officers and some secret agents from the CSI, including Mac himself, followed by a surrounding made by other officers, including Flack, Nishida and Beltrand. "Because it seemed like we have to cancel your vacation instead of delaying it further."

"Your husband can maybe protect you, but with as many acts he can make, he can't fool us, I'm afraid." Flack said.

"…"

"To make this quick so we can't disturb the other passengers, I'll summarize it short:" Mac said before continuing.

"You were in the house and you saw your husband was wounded and extremely tired. He said that he lost against Shuuzo, and he wanted to get revenge."

"Right, then?" The woman stayed ignorant.

"The thing is, when we're talking about lost and revenge, it was actually on the context of combat training in their Dojo, and the wound was actually accidental, and non-lethal. We confirmed it with the Dojo Master."

"That might probably true, but how am I related to this?"

"We are not sure about the relation of that, but we're sure of one thing. You killed Shuuzo with your husband's old pistol."

"I don't get it…"

"Okay, I'll explain. This is what happened the night of the murder: You let your husband rest, and one thing, you put a sleep drug on your husband's glass, so he was knocked out for good. And by that time, you would have gone out, searched for Shuuzo and eventually shot him to death. I don't know how you were able to locate him, but the proofs said it. And then you went home and pretend nothing happened. And everything went back as usual. The only thing that you didn't expect, is that the officers knew the case quickly and your husband was interrogated early in the morning. Even more, taking a saliva sample."

Mac then continued again.

"Your husband didn't notice anything else, and was tired in the morning because of less sleep and that drug. So he didn't suspect anything when he was asked for a sample. And truth to be told, that sample contains PCP, a strong one, which indicates the usage of it very recently, and we solved it out to be from sleeping drug. And you can just put humpty-dumpty back together since the one in access with that gun is just you and Westermann. Am I wrong in this matter?"

The woman was speechless, refuses to continue the questioning by not denying it.

"It was just a misunderstanding and yet it leads to this." Nishida said. "Though, I wonder how can you meet Shuuzo at that time, provided that it's already late and he was not at his house?"

The woman just smiled.

"Hmph, I know he'll eventually be there…" the woman said.

"Because you're in secret affair with him, right?" Mac said, shocking Nishida and Beltrand, who didn't know about the fact, of course. "And yet, he still turn himself in. You've got such a caring husband. Too caring, to cite the fact, and you ruined it."

The woman just smiled in defeat.

"Why?" suddenly Nishida asked, with a high tone. "Why did you do that?"

"Nishida, that's enough." Mac stopped him. "Take her to custody, and let's go back. We can't let the schedule of the flights in Chaos."

And with that, the officers near Mac cuffed the woman and then went off after apologizing for the sudden intrusion.

* * *

-In the car-

"Nishida, what the heck are you doing back then?" Flack asked. "You could make things more complicated that way!"

"I'm sorry, boss." Nishida replied. "I was just annoyed by that woman's smile. I mean…how come did she do all that and still showing that."

"Well, that's the truth and I could say, she might be crazy." Beltrand said. "But, you remembered what your friend said when you finished interrogating him, right?"

Nishida thought for a moment, before eventually registered it back.

" _If, by the worst case, should everything take turn to the worse, I would advise you to keep being professional."_

"Keep…being professional…"

"That's right. Your friend had said it to you. You know that, right?" Flack said. "Anyway, mission accomplished. Good job, guys."

"Well, we barely did anything in the end, but looks like all's well that ends well." Beltrand said. "So, we're going back to the precinct?"

"I had to, but you guys didn't. You just need to drop me there." Flack said.

"Alright, on our way then."

* * *

"Well, I'll be on the general interrogation. You could join me if you want, or you can go back to your homes since you guys deserve a break after all that happens. I have transferred your duty for today to the substitute officers." Flack said.

"I could oblige, but I think I'll pass." Beltrand said. "What about you, Nishida?"

"I think I'll pass." Nishida said. "Though, can you drive me to a certain place? If you haven't got any schedule from your girlfriend, anyway?"

"Eh? We haven't, though. But, where are we going?"

"My friend's Dojo."

"Oh, that Dojo from before." Beltrand said, realizing what Nishida had meant. "Why are we going there, though? Are you visiting your friend?"

"Well, sort of. It won't take long though, I'm just going to give him something. Hopefully"

"Alright then. Want to go now?"

"Sure."

* * *

"So, it advertently turned out well in the end." Beltrand said.

"I wouldn't say well, though." Nishida replied

"But it's well for your friend there." Beltrand replied. "So now, he's out of the case, and case closed. Though, can I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

"About this Battlefront-thingy whatsoever." Beltrand said. "I had met the girl from the PCT-Division earlier…"

"Really?" Nishida's eyes shot up looking at his colleague. "Could you tell me about her then?"

"Well, I did say that it's better for you to see it yourself." Beltrand chuckled. "But trust me, you'll end up shocked."

"It's not funny, and why must I be shocked?"

"You'll see later."

"Urgh…" Nishida pouted.

"But seriously, after looking at that girl, and then about this Dojo Master, I could say you guys are bunch of weird people, I mean, I can't see too much similarity between you guys."

"Thanks for the 'compliment'" Nishida replied sarcastically.

"You're welcome. Though, by too much, there is actually one thing that equalize you guys, that you had Japanese blood inside you, right?"

"Well…I won't conclude that." Nishida said. "But, I could say that most of us are having that bloodline."

Nishida was not so sure that T.K. is a Japanese or not, so he knew he couldn't conclude like Beltrand had said.

"Oh, speaking of which, do you know somebody named Otonashi, a doctor?"

"Eh?" Nishida again was surprised. "I knew him of course. How do you know?"

"Well that's only a coincidence." Beltrand said. "My mother is a nurse at the hospital where you were treated back then, and she told me about a young doctor with a Japanese blood working there, and his doting wife who sometimes come with him."

'Otonashi and Kanade…why the hell is this world so small?' Nishida thought.

"Don't tell me, they are also have this Battlefront-thingy related?" Beltrand said.

"As much as I didn't want to tell you, but yeah, they did." Nishida replied. 'Even though the other one is not related that well…'

"Oh God…I'm getting more and more curious about this Battlefront-thingy whatsoever. I would really like to hear you guys talk about it…" Beltrand said.

"Dream on, or rather, even if you wanted to, you will not understand anything, though." Nishida said. _'Especially if they still used the same language and "the hyperbolic terms", which sometimes even made me confused myself.'_

"That;s not because everything is in Japanese, right? Because if it did, then it would be no problem, because me and my girlfriend liked to watch Japanese Animation on our days off." Beltrand smirked.

"Well, one part, yeah. Even if you and your girlfriend watched that anime whatsoever, it would not have been a guarantee that you will understand us anyway. What's more, there's another reason about that."

"And that is?"

"I can't just tell you that, right? Oh…there's the Dojo!"

The car was then parked outside the gate.

"Stay here, I won't be long."

Nishida then called for the inhabitant of the Dojo, and of course, being on this time and after the case, Matsushita was the one opening the gate.

"Oh, Nishida, you needed more information regarding the case?" Matsushita asked.

"No, the case is closed already, I'm here for another thing."

"Then, why don't you just come in then?"

* * *

"So, it was Westermann's wife that killed Shuuzo? That's pretty unexpected, and Shuuzo had never told me about the secret affair either." Matsushita asked. "But I'm glad things turned out well in the end."

"You're right. It would be a shame if you really were the culprit though. The Operation will never be finished."

Matsushita raised his eyebrow on the certain word. "Operation?"

"Ah, sorry, I haven't told anything about it, right?" Nishida said. "So, before that, I would like to ask…do you still retain the memories of the Afterlife? About the Battlefront?"

"It was vague at first, but they did come back though." Matsushita said. "I don't know what happened after that shadow thingy. You want to explain?"

Nishida thought of doing it, but he realized it was a bit irrelevant and he blushed remembering a certain "date" in the Afterlife, which happened after the "graduation" of most of the members, including Matsushita _go-dan_.

"It's not something important to be discussed now though, we can discuss it when we're with the others." Nishida said. "Apparently, I was reunited with Otonashi and Kanade, or Tenshi as you know it, before the case, and the three of us decided to search for more Battlefront members. We wrapped it in an Operation, led by Otonashi."

"Well, that's pretty much Otonashi, especially that time when the shadow attacks and he took charge of us." Matsushita said.

"Including you though, we only have me, you, Otonashi, and Kanade in the list, and advertently according to my colleagues, there's actually one other member that is in NYPD, but that sneaky guys didn't want to give information about her."

"Really?"

"That won't affect much though, I would meet this girl tomorrow at a Police event." I said. "As for now, I'm just informing you about all of this, and here's Otonashi's and Kanade's numbers. You should contact either of them to confirm about your…ehem…"existence" in the Operation." Nishida said. "What do you think?"

"Not a bad idea." Matsushita said. "I'll let them know. Though I don't know if I could be present if there's a meeting or something like that."

"Don't worry. We haven't scheduled any, and all of us have our businesses. We'll tell you later if there is." Nishida said.

"Alright!"

"Matters aside, I'm afraid my colleague's already waiting long enough at the car, so I'll see you later, and, welcome back to the Battlefront!" Nishida shook Matsushita's hand.

"It's good to be back."

* * *

-In the Car-

"So, Case Closed?"

"Yes, all of the days' work for me." Beltrand said. Apparently he was on the phone.

"Anyway, I gotta go, make sure you got enough rest and healthy food, okay? I might be away but I'll know about it when I'm back." A female voice at the phone said.

"You're scary…"

The door of the car opened.

"Thank you so much for the compliment. Remember, you need to have enough rest. _Ja…oyasuminasai_!"

" _Oyasumi!_ " Beltrand replied before hanging up. Beside him is already his colleague who had finished his business. "Oh, finished already, Nishida- _san_?"

"Good, for once you called me by my name, and what's with the _-san_? And the " _Oyasumi_ " on the phone? Are you in weeb mode?" Nishida asked.

"You could say it like that." Beltrand laughed.

' _I'm dissing him there and yet he didn't know it,'_ Nishida facepalmed.

"Speaking of which, you will come to the party tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, it's the usual Cafe at 18.30, right?"

"You know it. And finally you can meet this girl that already sparked your curiosity, am I right?" Beltrand chuckled.

"You sounded so happy with this…"

"Well why not?"

"That's annoying. Honestly!"

"Want me to drop you in front of your home?"

"Sure, thanks for the offer and the topic change, though."

* * *

-The Next Day-

"Alright, we made it here." Beltrand said. "Ready for the surprise, West?"

"You made it sound like I'm meeting my soon-to-be-wife or a girlfriend or something?"

"That two means the same, right?"

"Yeah, thanks for stating the obvious, Beltrand." Nishida mumbled, before entering the café together with Flack and Beltrand.

Inside, there were already some familiar faces, albeit without their work uniforms. They looked like they were expecting the group

"Oh, that's Flack's group." One of them said. "Come and enjoy yourself, man!"

The group walked further inside, joining the other group, before eventually Nishida noticed a young lady in a dress, covered in jacket though, sitting alone on one place. It didn't need too much time for Nishida to recognize the girl.

Though, after their eyes met, and Nishida got a full view on her face, it was at the time that he knew…

"Y…Yusa…"

The girl was emotionless, but apparently her lips started to move as she talked.

"Well, if it isn't the perverted ex-assassin Shugo Nishida."

.

…he's in trouble.

* * *

 **Yup, you got it very right,** **Enilorac Eiram** **. It was Yusa.**

 **Now things might get even more interesting. If we all read the prequel, we know how bad is the relation between Nishida and Yusa, but that also marked that Nishida's interaction with Yusa counted even more than all GirlDeMo members, minus Irie. And here they are.**

 **Now, Yusa will have lot more interactions with our…ehem…Police Officer (let's cut out the ex-assassin thingy for now) since both of them worked at the NYPD, and with Nishida being part of the Metro Police as well, he would have lot more interactions in a professional way. Well, how will it turn out though? It will be shown in some more parts.**

 **There will be 3 parts in this story, and right now we're still in the 1** **st** **part. The second part will be far after this (I haven't even pinpointed at which chapter, but there will be a turning point there). And the third part will actually be the epilogue. I could hazard a guess of around 40 chapters or sort, or even less, but who knows, I haven't thought on too much yet.**

 **Please R &R, Constructive Reviews and Critics are appreciated while flames are prohibited.**

 **Thank you and see you soon!**

 **Kage**


	9. Taciturn, but Lonely

**Back with another chapter. Seriously, with this slow pace, I've been wondering when I could finally finish this story, but well, I'll just get on with it…**

 **As for the review by** **Enilorac Eiram** **(hey, I'll always be waiting for your review since technically you're the only one reviewing, but then I'll appreciate it a lot!)**

 **Yup, and that took me the entire day just to think about it, to make a little research and some logic plotting onto the case. That was a very hard work for me. Luckily since I had some Mathematics background, logic plotting is not the worst part and I could overcome it.**

 **And of course, the way I wrote it could also imply Irie, but you know it's a bit too fast since that means there could actually be a total climax there, which I tried to avoid before reaching certain milestone. But don't worry, I'll let them reunite 'very soon' XD.**

 **Well, I wouldn't say chaos for now, but you're very right when the Battlefront continues to grow. With the current Nishida, Otonashi, Kanade, Matsushita and Yusa, there won't be too much chaos (well except Nishida and Yusa, notably), but we can throw more members in and yup, I'll agree with you.**

 **Thanks for the review!**

 **And here's the chapter!**

Chapter 8- Taciturn, but Lonely

* * *

"Well, if it's not the perverted ex-assassin Shugo Nishida."

Looking at her glare and her exclamation right that was already enough to send Nishida into confusion and panic. Not only that she said something that should've been Battlefront-related, but she also said it out in front of his colleagues!

Luckily, only him, Flack and Beltrand heard her out, since the others are still chugging on drinks or dancing or talking with the others. Well, chalk one up to Yusa for liking to be alone…

But well, it wasn't supposed to be lucky either…

"Ex-Assassin?" Flack said, confused.

"Perverted? Oh, so West really is a pervert." Beltrand laughed. "The cat's out of the bag, buddy."

"Shut up, Beltrand." Nishida hushed, before turning back to Yusa. "Again with that nickname?"

"Well, it suits you very well, so why not?" Yusa said in emotionless tone, although her lips actually formed a smirk.

"It doesn't suit me at all!"

"So, care to explain about this "perverted ex-assassin" thingy, Nishida?" Flack smirked. "I should have known that you have a quirk of an assassin, judging by your looks and attitude."

"Eh. No, that's not it." Nishida said. "You know what, Yusa, since you're the one mentioning about it, why didn't you explain to them?"

Yusa didn't look pleased, but eventually nodded.

* * *

"I see." Flack responded quite calmly. "Another roleplay in this "Battlefront" thing, eh?"

"Yes." Yusa confirmed. "In the roleplay, Nishida was supposed to be an ex-assassin, who gave up his job because he wanted to live a normal life."

'Yusa could really become a talented storyteller.' Nishida thought.

"Apparently when we're living with the roleplay environment, Nishida was getting close to one of the girls in the Battlefront. This girl is known to be shy, very feminine, well, your typical of an introvert cute girl." Yusa said.

' _Well, that's a nice depiction for Irie there_.' Nishida thought again, smiling as he thought about it.

"Oh…so Nishida really has someone he liked." Beltrand said, smirking. "Now you can't keep that a secret anymore."

"Shut up, Beltrand. It's only a roleplay!"

"Okay, so…will the next one be an explanation as per why the "perverted" comes out?"

"You know it, agent Flack." Yusa replied (well she knew Flack since eventually she was introduced to him by her supervisor).

' _Why do I feel that this will turn worse really soon?_ '

"So, eventually, in one occasion we're planning on a vacation in the beach, then the girl, being shy, was teased by her friend, saying that Nishida might be imagining her in swimsuits, and true to her thought, he did."

"Don't make up such things! I didn't!"

"But she ended up slapping you, right?"

"Well, how will she not? I was too shocked to even respond to the commotion that her hands beat me to it…" Nishida said before turning to his friends. "Seriously, everything there was all an accident!"

"Yeah, yeah, we know that. That was a common excuse for perverts." Beltrand laughed, followed by Flack and apparently, although for a short time, Yusa herself.

Nishida could only look downwards in defeat and shame.

"Good Lord…"

"Hey, cheer up, perv…I mean Nishida." Flack commented, still laughing.

"So, maybe one day, he could teach us on how to imagine girls in swimsuits, so that we can select the perfect one for our girlfriends, eh?" Beltrand continued.

"Well, for one, I am not imagining. Two, I'm not going to teach you that, and three, I doubt that reasoning of yours." Nishida spat back. "Are you sure I'm the pervert and not you?"

This time Beltrand's being dumbfounded, and Nishida broke into laughter.

"This will be a long day..." Yusa thought.

* * *

Meanwhile, things are a bit more relaxed in the Otonashi household. Though, that doesn't mean everyone's asleep though despite it's already nighttime, probably at 22.00.

" _Tadaima_ ", a soft, feminine voice could be heard near the front door. Judging from the tone and the time it is now, the inhabitants of the house instantly recognized her.

" _Okaeri,_ Kanade _nee-san_!" She was greeted by a cheerful yet teenage voice from the kitchen. "Work's pretty hard, isn't it?"

"Not too shabby, I say." Kanade replied with just a short sentence and monotonic intonation, marking her usual demeanor. Though, a question mark began to appear when the girl greeting her was actually wearing an apron, even though it's already late night. "By the way, why are you in the kitchen this late, Hatsune?"

"I'm preparing some food for tomorrow, since I will have an appointment early tomorrow with my friends." Hatsune replied.

"Of course you do, you had just come home a few days ago." Kanade remarked. "And you're not in your best condition also."

"Don't worry, Kanade _nee-san_ , I've gotten better this morning, thanks to you and _nii-san._ "

" _Yokatta-desu_ ," Kanade replied. "Well, you had just recovered so please have enough rest. Your brother will act crazily again if you fell ill again. _Oyasumi_."

"I will! _Oyasumi, nee-san!_ "

So, to clarify everything, Hatsune came home from Mannheim a few days ago, but the jet lag and a complication of nonlethal sicknesses had made her bedridden, or actually forced her to take a rest for a few days, which actually worried Yuzuru since it reminded him of a not-so-exciting memory of the two of them.

Luckily all of the sicknesses are nonlethal and pretty light, so with Yuzuru's care, she recovered pretty well that morning. Chalk one up to the doctor, anyway.

Though, spending most of her days at Germany to study for pursuing her career at performance arts, it was the first time after 6 months that she came back to NY, it means that 18-year-old Hatsune had some catching up to do with her family, which right then consisted of her brother, Yuzuru and his wife Kanade.

But of course, not only those two, but also her old highschool friends missed her as much, and eventually she decided to make an appointment with some of them while she can, she can then catch up with her family after that.

Never did she know, her "catching up" with her family might not be just the three of them…

* * *

-Now, back to our police meeting-

"So, Flack and I are going to talk with the others of the investigation team. It won't hurt if I just left the two of you here, right?"

Beltrand said it like he really meant it, but Nishida knew pretty well what it is behind it. Well, he's his colleague and best friend after all, so it was pretty obvious that Beltrand's setting him up with Yusa.

Despite that, he isn't annoyed at all, because apparently he needed time alone with the said blonde, anyway.

"Sure, go ahead. I'll meet you two later!"

"Okay then, you're on your own then, see you later!"

Flack and Beltrand then left him and Yusa alone. For both of them, however, it might be a good chance to talk something a bit secretively.

Though, since both of them is not initiatively talkative, there was a brief, awkward silence between the two of them, though if you squint, there's actually a reason why Nishida couldn't speak up…

"Now, with the two gone, I might as well ask you something." Yusa cracked the silence up first. "Nishida, if you can leave a comment on what we have talked about before, I assume that means your memories with the Battlefront are still intact. Am I right?"

Nishida just nodded, unable to speak since he's pretty much too "scared" of the girl.

"Then, I think it would be nice if I started with the most classic things." Yusa said, before offering a hand towards him. "It's good to see you again, Nishida- _san_."

Nishida was dumbfounded, but eventually accepted the hand in a handshake. "I…It's good to see you again."

"Why are you trembling?"

"A…am I? You must be imagining things."

"That's rich coming from you." Yusa replied sarcastically. "Anyway, if you still retain the memories, and with our meeting here, is there any way that we can reunite with the others from the Battlefront?"

Nishida thought for a moment, and was surprised actually. He actually planned to ask Yusa about where Irie is, with possibility that she might know about her current location or sort, but that question pretty much answered it already.

It's pretty obvious that Yusa hadn't met any other Battlefront members before, which means she wouldn't know where Irie is. His heart sank just thinking about it, but well, he had to hide it anyway.

"Nishida?"

"I…I'm sorry." Nishida said. "Well, I wouldn't say there isn't any way to reunite all of them, but even so it would be a very challenging task, if my mind is working right."

"But, at least there is, right?"

"Probably."

"Then, I wonder if you had met the others too. I mean, I lived pretty much here for almost my entire lifetime and yet I hadn't found any except you." Yusa remarked.

That sentence was spoken with such emotionless tone, but when it comes to the content of it, Nishida could imply how Yusa also missed the Battlefront.

Well, she was, in fact, the right-hand of Yuri, anyway. Which means the Battlefront meant so much for her life…err…the Afterlife, I mean, but referring to the fact that he had met Otonashi, Kanade, Matsushita, and now Yusa, and the memories that had been contained inside their minds and hearts, he could eventually imply an equivalence to her own life now.

But, for Yusa to say that out, with no threatening words directed to him, it was actually a very rare occasion for the said purple-haired guy, if he looked back to their interactions in the Battlefront, where he was eventually "intimidated" by the said blonde. It's almost like the Yusa that is sitting in front of him now is a different person from the one back in the Battlefront era.

"Don't you want to say something, Nishida?" His chain of thought was interrupted by the said girl.

"Uh…well…how about the fact that I missed you?"

"Save the sarcasm and joke, thank you very much. Besides, you know that you should have said that to Irie instead of me, right?"

"Yeah, I know, but well, we haven't seen each other for years so it would make sense, don't you think?"

"Well, whatever." Yusa sighed in annoyance. Yep, she's back to that mode which Nishida feared for his entire "life" back then. "I am talking about the Battlefront, I'm indirectly asking if you had met any of the Battlefront members yet?"

'Eh, did she ask that before?' Nishida thought for a moment before eventually registering the indirect question that was directed to him previously.

"About that…" Nishida paused for a moment, before taking his cell out of his pocket. "Good news for you, I had managed to find Otonashi and Matsushita, and also got their contacts stored here in my phone."

"So you had met some of them!" Yusa replied, her tone now slightly increased, which, scaling with her emotionless personality, actually meant an ultimate shock or fascination.

"Aside from that, I could tell you a bit more though."

Nishida then proceeded to tell her about what he had known about the current status they are in. He informed Yusa about Otonashi's marriage to Kanade, well, Tenshi, as the Battlefront called her, Otonashi being a doctor, Kanade working in a restaurant shift, and Matsushita being a master of the Dojo in the city. And finally, he also told her that coincidentally, the members are starting an Operation to reunite everyone else too.

He refrained to ask her about Irie. She stated that she had never seen anyone in the Battlefront except him anyway, so it would not lead to anything.

Yusa might be a bit out of it when she registered what Nishida had said to her. It was a lot to take in, but at least everything now made sense, and also the Operation…it was not 'illegal' since at the last meeting at the Afterlife School Gym, Yuri had given an authority for Otonashi to lead the Battlefront.

So, with her getting Nishida's, Otonashi's, Kanade's and Matsushita's contact information (after Nishida offered her, anyway), she could eventually reunite with the Battlefront, although just part of it.

" _Arigatou,_ Nishida- _san_."

For the first time ever, Nishida saw a pure, genuine smile on Yusa's face, which actually, if he should admit, was nevertheless beautiful.

"Maybe you should smile like that more often. It looks good on you"

Her smile faded.

"And, what do you imply by that?"

Good job, Nishida, you ruined it.

"Nothing in particular."

Yusa then decided to stand up, preparing herself to leave. "Do you have something more to tell me? If not, then I'll be going."

"No, I don't, but are you just going to go home right now? You're not enjoying the party?"

"Well, the reason I came here is because I wanted to talk with you, that's all. I'm not actually interested…"

"That's twisted…" Nishida said, confused about the decision, and let Yusa turn back and exited the café.

"Ow…looks like it didn't end well, huh?" Suddenly Beltrand's sound emerged from his back. "What did you do to make her angry?"

"She's not angry at all."

"Really, but she did leave the café right after your "session", are you sure you didn't hurt her by any means?"

"Well, she said that…" Nishida paused and realized that he couldn't say the reason, knowing Beltrand, he would eventually tease him, like, for example:

"She just wanted to come to the party only to talk to me."

The reply will be:

"Oh, that's so sweet, going all the way here only for a private talk~" and one will eventually know how it will continue.

And so he tried to avoid that, and so, back to reality:

"She had an urgent call from her family, so she had to come back home."

"Ah, that's too bad. It would be very nice if she could spend more time with you." Beltrand said with a smirk, which caused the purplehead to sigh.

'Ugh…it seemed like no matter what response I gave him, he would eventually tease me to no end.'

"Anyway, Mac had asked for your presence, seems like he's going to give you some appreciation for your partaking in the latest case. And since that girlfriend of yours has gone home, it seemed like it would be the best time." Flack said.

"She's not my girlfriend, Boss. But just like you have said, then I'll go see him now." Nishida replied as he got up, but not before he sent a message to Otonashi about his new findings just now.

"Contact Info: Name: Yusa, Number: +1 742XXXXXXXX."

-Contact Sent to Otonashi, Y.-

* * *

-Late Night-

-Battlefront Chatroom-

Otonashi Yuzuru added Yusa to the group.

Otonashi: Okay, with Yusa added, that makes four of us, five if you count Kanade. Looks like we're still a long way to go, but seems like a good progress.

Nishida: Well, it would be a very challenging task anyway.

Otonashi: Anyway, next Tuesday will be the 4th of July, and since I'm still a junior doctor, I am having a day off. Kanade's also getting one, so I wonder if we can schedule a meet-up at that day. What do you think?

Nishida: Well, not the bad idea, if I am having one as well. But you know that I'm a police officer and so my workload will be tight during the day.

Otonashi: Well that's too bad.

Nishida: However, that doesn't mean there will be no time at all. If it's okay for you to have one in the morning, and finished before 13.00, you can count me in.

Matsushita: I can do with that, I will give everyone day off in the Dojo for the day.

Yusa: My case will be the same as Nishida, since we're both police officers.

Otonashi: Hmm…Kanade's already asleep, but it won't matter too much anyway. Stock exchange's also closed for the day so she wouldn't have any work at the morning as well. How does 8.00 at my house sound?

Nishida: I could do with it.

Matsushita: Not a bad idea for me either.

Yusa: Count me in. But where's your address?

Otonashi: 42th Jarvis Avenue, NY.

Yusa: Alright, noted.

Otonashi: Then, I'll see you then, everyone!

And with that chatroom talk, an appointment for a meeting of the current Battlefront members had been made.

* * *

 **A/N: And that concludes this filler chapter. So eventually I checked the wiki and eventually knew that there are 19 characters known in the Battlefront, plus one Tenshi, which makes 20. If I put Nishida in, that'll make 21. And this is the 8** **th** **chapter, 9 if the investigation is included, with 4 members + Tenshi already reunited, that marks nearly 25% progress. So, if I stick with the same content, there will be at least 27 chapters left, that's a lot of work for me to do .**

 **(Though, I won't guarantee that there will be 27 chapters left, it could be more, could be less, I'm looking at my plot guide and it was jumbled like a mathematical equation with many variables, just thinking of it made me sick, so I'll just go YOLO anyway.)**

 **Please R &R, Constructive Reviews and Critics are appreciated while flames are prohibited**

 **Thank you and see you soon!**

 **Kage**


	10. First Meeting

**Back with another chapter!**

 **This chapter will be about their first meeting, and seemed like someone has another way of teasing as well. And unexpectedly, one 4** **th** **of July celebration plan can turn the operation into another step forward. But will it be that easy?**

 **For the reviews, again from** **Enilorac Eiram** **:**

 **Yup, that took me a lot of thinking. Putting Westermann's wife suddenly in the picture was actually planned from the start, but the approach is practically what makes it harder. Especially on how long I haven't watched CSI again…Maybe another shot or combination with Detective-type manga like Detective Conan might help also, but let's see later.**

 **Yup, weeb mode, that's Nishida's assumptions, hilarious, even for myself XD. And that sudden ending of course was something, right.**

 **Yusa's interaction with Nishida might be a bit closer, especially with the two of them becoming part of NYPD, but of course, they have to stay professional, right? And that sudden impression about Yusa by our purple-haired officer is actually just a normal impression a man can have, but since Nishida haven't expected it for a while (especially because back then in the afterlife he was technically afraid and "hated" her, he had never got any chance to get a positive impression from her.**

 **Oh, and expect more teases for Nishida and Yusa in the future, just to spice things up a bit XD.**

 **Hatsune will have a role, albeit not very directly to the Battlefront. I'll try to develop her role better, but putting her status as a girl studying abroad, it won't be too much.**

 **And, I think I'll take your idea, summoning 2-3 characters at once, it would be much better. Heck, I wanted the "main turning point" of this story to be before chapter 20 or 25, but again I won't rush it. I've already made the draft of the turning point, just like once I made in FitDB, though it's a bit harder than before for now, and balancing it with the upcoming lectures I have starting next week and some other stories in-progress really jumbled my brain. Thanks for the idea and the review!**

 **And without further ado, let's hit the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 9- First Meeting

-NYPD, Monday, July 3rd-

"So, that concludes our briefing today. Remember, our operation tomorrow started at 2.20 PM, and so everyone must be present at 1.20 PM for a short briefing. The safety of the citizens here is at stake, and it's our duty to protect them. That's all! Dismissed!"

The officers then spread out to their respective posts, that includes Nishida and Beltrand going back to the Metro Division and Yusa to the PCT-Division.

"So, tomorrow is the 4th of July, eh?" Beltrand chirped, being the ones to crack the silence that has been emanating since the meeting started. "I wish I could spend the time with my girlfriend or someone else during that time. Too bad, as NYPD officers, we didn't have the privilege of having a day off." Beltrand said.

"Eh, who says? We do have a day off, although only half-a-day." Nishida remarked, causing his colleague to sigh.

"That's easy for you to say, but a half-a-day-off in the morning is really not my style. I wish it was the other way around, you know?"

"Really now?" Nishida facepalmed. "You're just jealous because you can't spend the 4th of July night with your girlfriend, right?"

"Eh, how do you know?"

"Well, I didn't realize it until now, but isn't that typical for young officers like you?"

"That's rich coming from someone younger than me." Beltrand remarked. "Aren't you also going to have a date with that girl from the PCT-Division there?"

"She's not my girlfriend, but we DO plan to hang out together tomorrow morning though." Nishida smirked, causing the brown-haired officer to be surprised and his eyes sparkling.

"Oh…oooohhh…so you plan to!"

"Why so surprised? It's not a big deal."

"It IS a big deal! You and her hanging out together in your half-day-offs, isn't that just another way of saying that you two are going on a date?" Beltrand smirked.

"I didn't say that it would be just the two of us…" Nishida said.

"Really? Why did I doubt it?" Beltrand said, before realizing something quite practical. If Nishida and Yusa hang out together, and it's not just the two of them, it can also mean that thing. "Wait, is this hang out related to that "Battlefront" thing whatsoever?"

"Oh, how did you figure it out?"

"Well I'm a genius, of course I do…"

"Hah, in your dreams."

"It was actually obvious, if there's one thing that you two did together and not with me." Beltrand said. "Seriously, the more you talked about it, the more I wanted to see and being involved by myself."

"And the more you said it, the more times I'm going to tell you that you'll be confused instead." Nishida said.

"Jeez, whatever you say." Beltrand replied. "Anyway, care to stop by Mrs. Taylor's after work?"

"If there's nothing urgent later on then sure."

* * *

-Otonashi Household-

"Hey, Hatsune, what are you reading?" Otonashi asked as he recognized that his sister was holding a kind of advertisement poster. Apparently after the meeting with her 'friends', Hatsune had come home earlier than expected (Otonashi expected her to come home quite late since it was making up the lost time with friends anyway). And she also brought with her a kind of poster, which actually had been glued in many parts of the city. Though since Otonashi was a bit too unaware to these kinds of posters, he usually ignored it.

"Oh, _onii-chan_ , it's just a poster about the performances in the 4th of July celebration tomorrow." Hatsune said. "There will be a lot of performers, some we did know, some we didn't."

"Uhm…interesting. Though, I'm not too keen on performances, sis." Otonashi replied, earning a pout from the younger girl.

"Oh c'mon, _onii-chan_ , let's see them together tomorrow. You won't regret it!"

"I already had a meeting tomorrow with my friends, you know?" Otonashi said. "I had told you yesterday!"

"No worries, they can also watch together with us!"

"Seriously now…?" Otonashi sighed. It's no use to counter her sister when she really wanted to see or want something. Not that he wanted to spoil her, but maybe sometimes he really needed to, especially since she had missed a lot of America during her studies at Germany.

But it shouldn't be a routine, of course…

"Alright, let's just see tomorrow…Though, why are you so keen on seeing the performance?

"Should there be a reason, _onii-chan_?"

"Uhm…maybe?" Otonashi replied. "Who's performing tomorrow, though?"

"Let's see…according to the flyer…" Hatsune paused, scanning over the flyer for the answer, and her eyes then stopped on a list of performers. "Well, it features a local band named Pop 'n Drop and their newest album, and then magic show by Illusionist Harley, and also a dance performance by Trent Kessler. Aside from that also surprise performances from numerous performers."

'Typical performances, local bands are of course a soft spot for regional celebration, magic show, well that's a bit interesting, and then a dance performance…from the name "Trent Kessler", it would be something of a break dancing or you know…those kind of manly dances…I can only think of break dancing though…' Otonashi thought, before suddenly realization hit him again. 'Wait a minute!'

"Hatsune…"

"Yes, _onii-chan_?"

"The dance performance by Trent Kessler, does that specify what kind of dances he danced or anything about him?"

"Are you seriously asking about that, _onii-chan_?" Hatsune asked. "Trent Kessler was already known throughout many young people for his rapid breakdancing. One said that his movements are agile and so gloriously flowing that sometimes he could do it blindfolded too." She said. "Many of his fans called him by _Glorious Trent_ , or anything like that, but he thought that was a bit silly actually."

"Well, I'm sorry for not following entertainment program, Hatsune!" Otonashi sighed. "Let me guess though, does this Trent Kessler have a trademark, like ripped jeans, or silvery hair, or something like that?"

"I didn't know too much, but his usual trademark is a headband that has the color of a USA flag, and sometimes he wears it so low that it covers his eyes. His hair is usually blonde, never know if he dyed his hair or not." Hatsune said.

'That was too good of a coincidence.' Otonashi thought. 'If it was really him, then it would be good and bad at the same time…'

" _Onii-chan_ , are you thinking about something?"

"No, nothing." Otonashi replied. "Though, you know what, I changed my mind. I'll accompany you with my friends to the performance tomorrow."

" _Hontou ni? Arigatou nee, onii-chan!_ " Hatsune exclaimed happily, reminded the older Otonashi about her reaction when she was given a book by him during her sick days…no…not that memory, please…

"Now, now, calm down." Otonashi said. "Anyway, what's for dinner?"

"Szechuan Tofu and Shrimp Rolls. I missed making these kinds of food, you know?" Hatsune replied cheerfully.

Otonashi sweatdropped, but he didn't object it since he liked it too, especially after that first taste back then, which left a tasty first impression on the dish. Though, he knew somebody he knows very well will be so elated. Especially now since she had practically a day off since the restaurant she worked in was open only half-a-day at the morning. (She'll expect double shift the next workday though :D)

"It should be done quickly enough. I'll call you and Kanade _onee-chan_ when it's ready." She said.

"Okay!"

As Otonashi walked towards his room…correction…his and Kanade's room, he continued pondering about this mysterious breakdancer who will perform at the celebration tomorrow…

* * *

-The Next Day-

*knock* *knock*

"I'll get it."

It was still quite early, around 7.30 in the morning. Yet the Otonashi household was already brightened enough at this time. Well, aside from the fact that Kanade was still bleary-eyed and Yuzuru still taking a bath. Hatsune was the only one dressed neatly for the day…I mean she had prepared herself and finished her morning duties (taking a bath, brushing teeth, etc., and for herself, also preparing breakfast). In fact, it was Hatsune herself who decided to answer the knocking.

The younger Otonashi then approached the door, turned the handle and opened the door, to be greeted by a purple-haired man, dressed in police uniform (or atleast police jacket) and (almost) all his attributes.

"Excuse me, is Otonashi Yuzuru living here?"

Spontaneously this made Hatsune tremble. "Why is the NYPD here? My brother is innocent! He didn't do anything!"

"Eh…no…I mean…"

"No, he's not home!" Hatsune shouted with a trembling voice.

"Hatsune, what's with the commotion?" suddenly a familiar voice could be heard from inside the house. "Do you need my help."

"No, don't come here, brother! You'll be wrongly arrested!"

"O…Otonashi- _san_ , help…" the police officer also shouted, just loud enough for the inhabitants of the house to hear, including the said young man in mention.

"That voice…" Otonashi thought, finally realized what Hatsune might think about the commotion.

"Let him in, Hatsune. He's a friend."

* * *

" _Sou desuka…hontou-ni sumimasen-deshita!_ " Hatsune apologized while bowing down, earning sweatdrops from the said police officer.

"Now, now…Oto…wait…how should I call you then?"

"Well, you can call her with Hatsune if you want…" Otonashi remarked.

"Sorry, it's a bit impolite to go with first-name basis now, since we had just met." Nishida replied. "What about…ehem…Otonashi- _chan_?"

"What the…" The older Otonashi almost spit out his drink.

"I'm serious here, Otonashi- _san_!"

"But, it's so weird coming from you, you know?"

"Ahem…then…just take the middle approach." Hatsune said. "Hatsune- _san_ , isn't that better?"

"Well, okay, Hatsune- _san_." Nishida replied.

"Then, once again, I'm sorry for all the commotion earlier, Officer Nishida." Hatsune said, apologizing again.

"It's okay, it's not your fault." Nishida replied.

"Well, I never expected you to come dressed in police attire, after all." Otonashi replied. "Doesn't your work start at 2 PM?"

"1.20, and actually this is just my jacket." Nishida said, before taking off his jacket, revealing a purple T-Shirt that matches his hair color.

Both Otonashi facepalmed.

"Anyway, Yusa is on the way, and Matsushita might be a bit late because of a little Dojo work. You got the message, right?" Otonashi asked.

"Yes, I did."

"Anyway, _onii-chan_ , how do you know this police officer? I mean, it's not like you to befriend one." Hatsune asked, causing Nishida to chuckle.

"Hey, don't make it sound like I can't have friends…"

"I'm not saying that! I'm just saying that it's a bit unusual for you to have a friend which is a police officer! I'm not saying that you can't have friends!" Hatsune pouted.

"Yes, yes, I know. I'm just joking." Otonashi replied. "Well, one day when I was still in my work, this officer here fell victim to a gunshot, and since no doctors are available at that time, I volunteered to take care of him, and there you have it. We started to bond up during his recovery. That's how it is."

'Of course I couldn't tell her about the Afterlife…right?'

"Yep, he's right. He's a great doctor if I could say." Nishida said.

"Wow! _Sasuga onii-chan!_ " Hatsune replied.

"Anyway, how about you yourself, Hatsune? You haven't got the chance to tell us about your studies and new life in Germany. How was it?" Otonashi asked.

"Umm…where should I start?"

"From anywhere you like it."

Hatsune then proceeded to tell them her unforgettable moments in Germany, starting from some shifts of culture, the language which is quite hard, but understandable, about her first day at the Uni, her first friends, her neighbors, her apartment, and many more. All-in-one thing that Otonashi could derive from her, is that she really enjoyed her new adaptable life.

"Germany surely had left such an impression for you then, Hatsune- _san_." Nishida said, amazed by the story from the younger Otonashi.

"Yeah, something like that."

"What about your studies, it wasn't above your limitations, right?" This time it was Kanade who was asking. Well, such a typical ex-Student Council President's question, all related to academics or that sort of thing.

"I wouldn't say above, but they're practically hard and shocked me at first." Hatsune said. "However, it was still manageable. I just need to pour in more dedication and diligence and it shouldn't be a problem."

"Well, good to hear that." Kanade said, relieved.

They continued to chat for a moment, before another series of knocks could be heard from the door. It was Matsushita and Yusa, apparently. Seeing the two coming, Kanade quickly made her way to the kitchen and took two glasses of drink.

"Oh, Nishida, you're already here?" Yusa asked albeit a bit emotionlessly.

"Yes, why?"

"How did you get here? I didn't see your car."

"I don't feel like driving. I'm taking the subway and walked the rest of the way here." Nishida said, earning a little surprised look from the blonde.

"You could've asked Beltrand or me to pick you up."

"It's actually not your concern anyway. As much, I never expected you to offer a pick-up."

"Are you mocking me?" Yusa asked, a bit insulted.

"No, it's just…nevermind." Nishida replied. "As for Beltrand, if he's driving me here, he would apparently end up talking with us here, and I'd feel sorry for his brain, seriously."

"As his best friend, you seem to look down on him a lot…"

"Well, that's exactly because he is my best friend that I did that, consider it as a payback for his pranks and teases." Nishida chuckled.

"Okay, you can stop the lovers' quarrel." Hatsune suddenly chirped, earning attention from everyone there.

"L…Lovers' quarrel?"

"Oh, so there's something between Nishida and Yusa?" Matsushita asked.

"None other than colleagues in NYPD, yes." Nishida replied.

"Oh Really?" Hatsune smirked, seemed like she was attracted to this kind of topic. Her brother, on the other hand, knew the truth behind the matter and just stayed calm. But eventually, this is getting nowhere so Otonashi had to step in.

"Okay, cut it out, Hatsune." Otonashi replied. "As such, We welcome you to our little palace here, sorry if it's not too big or comfortable."

"This seemed very comfortable to me." Matsushita said.

"Anyway, while we're here, I wanted to discuss about everything that we've found so far, as our operation to reunite every member of the Battlefront. Well, basically everyone, not a certain person, okay Nishida?" Otonashi smirked

"And what do you mean by that?" Nishida feigned an ignorance, knowing actually where he was going to.

"Okay, jokes aside. So far, we've reunited all of us here, mostly by coincidence, which I believe took a very big part of this operation." Otonashi asked. "As a matter of fact, to start, did you guys have any clues as per where the other members are?"

It was a silence at first. Nishida was the one to answer. "Aside from suddenly discovering Matsushita and Yusa, I have no other leads."

"Technically I discovered you." Yusa said.

"Eh, but I'm reuniting you with the Battlefront…"

"Okay, that's enough." Otonashi shouted. "Anything else, Nishida?"

"I'm practically having no leads as I had said, but knowing my job as a police officer, there might be a good number of chances for me so I'll do my best." Nishida said.

"My case might practically a bit more difficult, because I worked mostly with sounds, so my chances are not that high. However if I teamed up with Nishida and his partner, there might be a slightly better chance. But as per now, no leads as well." Yusa said.

"Well, I was working as the Dojo Master around so I might not be of much help. Also no leads from me" Matsushita replied. "But, if I interacted enough with the people coming to my Dojo, there will also still a chance."

"The case for me is practically almost like Nishida, except it's the other way around, since instead of me searching around, it's people searching for me."

"Talk about a celebrity." Nishida smirked.

"Shut up, Nishida. I didn't mean in like that." Otonashi said. "While for Kanade, it is almost the same, she'll probably just notice one when he/she's coming to the restaurant where she works."

"Hmm…" Nishida thought. "This is tough."

"However, different from you all, I…or actually it's because of Hatsune…found a possible lead."

Spontaneously everyone's attention became much more focused to the said redhead.

"R…Really?" Nishida asked. "Who is it?"

"This is only just a hunch, but apparently I asked Hatsune about the celebration tonight." Otonashi said. "At the flyer about the celebration, they mentioned about a dance performance by Trent Kessler. That suddenly just rang a bell on me."

"Trent Kessler…dance performance…" Nishida thought.

"Oh, I think I get it." Matsushita said. "Trent Kessler, you can put his initial as T.K., right?"

"Oh yeah, right, T.K.." Nishida said.

"What's more, a dance performance is technically so very T.K." Matsushita said. "You wanted to say that Trent Kessler is T.K., right?"

"That's why I think we really should check him out." Otonashi said. "Hatsune wanted to watch his performance tonight, and for the sake of the operation, I guess we should check him out too!"

"Well, if you say so. But you know pretty well that I'm in charge of guarding the performance so I might not be that useful." Nishida said.

"At least you can confirm if it was him or not, at least." Otonashi said. "However, one thing still loomed inside my mind."

"Eh?"

"If he really is T.K., then how do we convince him to join us back? Hatsune said that he's pretty much well-known so he must be very busy and having no time, and also, it's not easy to make contact with him, right?"

Silence…

"That matters later…for now just confirm if he really is him." Nishida said. "Let's see later."

-To Be Continued-

* * *

 **Huff…took me very long due to lots of stories and lots of distractions on the way. And starting next week, updates might be very slow because the winter semester lectures of my Uni is starting.**

 **Anyhow, I'm trying to insert a good role for Hatsune, an also a little shenanigans between Nishida and Yusa, because I felt it might be boring if the interactions between Nishida and any female that is not Irie become so bland. Let's spice 'em a bit. Though, Yusa offering a ride for Nishida is not really Yusa-style, eh? Who knows?**

 **Anyway, next chapter might cover about this Trent Kessler, is it really TK? And if yes, what will they do, knowing his status as a well-known celebrity? Coming up next chapter!**

 **Thank you and see you soon!**

 **Kage**


End file.
